Station HYPO

On January 28, 1968, fourteen miles from North Korean land, the USS PUEBLO was attacked and captured by overwhelming forces from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The crew was detained and interrogated until their release on December 23, 1968, 338 days after their capture.

Despite the crew’s valiant efforts to destroy classified materials on board, much was still undestroyed and fell into North Korean hands when the ship was captured.

What Events Lead to the USS PUEBLO INCIDENT?

In the 1960s, the U.S. cryptologic community, comprised of NSA and the Service Cryptologic Components, conducted communications intercept via specially-configured ships. These vessels, known as “technical research ships,” or TRSs, could respond quickly to crises and provide needed intercept coverage in global regions where there were unanticipated needs for intelligence information.

In 1967, after more than a decade in which conflict on the Korean Peninsula had been relatively muted, North Korea, the DPRK, became increasingly aggressive toward South Korea, the ROK. In fact, at the time the mission of the USS PUEBLO was being conducted, North Korean commandos had just invaded Seoul on a mission to assassinate the ROK president.

The United States had a mutual defense agreement with the ROK but was heavily involved in the war in Southeast Asia. U.S. military leaders sought additional information on the DPRK to assist their decision making in this renewed conflict in Northeast Asia.

The intelligence community judged that use of TRSs was an effective way to respond quickly. The USS PUEBLO, a converted World War II supply ship, was one of the vessels assigned this collection mission. Although arguably not seaworthy, the USS PUEBLO was refitted for a SIGINT mission, sailed to Japan in late 1967, and then to the east coast of the DPRK.

For its mission, the USS PUEBLO was instructed to be scrupulous about staying in international waters, which the United States interpreted as twelve miles from land, the international norm at that time. North Korea, however, claimed a boundary of two hundred miles for its national waters.

One member of the crew (FN Duane Hodges) died as a result of injuries sustained during the ship’s capture. The North Koreans detained and interrogated the ship’s remaining 82-member crew for eleven months. Many among the crew were highly experienced in U.S. SIGINT operations.  On December 23, 1968 after a U.S. military representative signed a formal apology for intruding into DPRK waters –- a statement he repudiated verbally immediately after signing it — the crew was returned. The USS PUEBLO itself is still located in North Korea.

Upon the crew’s return, the crew was questioned by experts to determine the extent of compromises of classified documents, equipment, and other information. In addition, reflecting the high emotions prevalent in the time, the crew was frequently tarnished with unfair blame for the incident. Today, history views the crews’ valiant efforts as courageous. All crew members, including the civilian oceanographers, who were held prisoner were authorized the Prisoner of War Medal. All military crew members were authorized the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon. The crew are true American heroes.

A Listing of the Valiant Crew Members*, U.S. Heroes, by name