Hands up if you've heard of the Pueblo Incident.
No, me neither, but I'm not American and I was only eleven at the time so it's hardly surprising.
The Pueblo was a United States spy ship that was captured by the North Koreans on 23 January 1968. One crew member was killed in the action and the others were captured. They were held for eleven months. Eventually the United States apologised for spying and the captain signed a confession and the crew were released. After the release the US and the captain recanted their words. The Pueblo was kept by the DPRK who now have it moored in the river in Pyangyong and take tourists around it.
So much for the bare facts. There are all sorts of other disputed "facts". The US say that it was well outside DPRK waters, the DPRK say it wasn't. The US say that the crew were kept in bad conditions, endured torture and mock executions to make them confess and were generally mistreated. The DPRK say there was no torture, the crew were kept in good conditions and the confessions were genuine.
After our visit to the War Museum we went to see the Pueblo. We were shown around the ship by the same guide that we had had at the museum and given the North Korean version of events. It was a rather eerie experience that reminded me a little of the trip around a captured U-boat that you can do in the Science Museum in Chicago. They have done very little with the ship apart from painting red circles round every bullet hole and shell mark on the ship to draw attention to the effects of the battle. Every area of the ship is paraded to the public to show what the DPRK claim the Americans were up to. We saw the electronic surveillance equipment, the arms lockers, the gun deck guns, the code room and so on. We were also shown a video about the incident. It was actually quite hard to keep a straight face during this as it was delivered with a stirring musical background and an overblown pomposity that undermined the message it was trying to give. We would come across more examples of this kind of misguided rhetoric later. Someone really should explain to the people who produced these videos for them just why they would achieve a better result with a less theatrical style.
No, me neither, but I'm not American and I was only eleven at the time so it's hardly surprising.
The Pueblo was a United States spy ship that was captured by the North Koreans on 23 January 1968. One crew member was killed in the action and the others were captured. They were held for eleven months. Eventually the United States apologised for spying and the captain signed a confession and the crew were released. After the release the US and the captain recanted their words. The Pueblo was kept by the DPRK who now have it moored in the river in Pyangyong and take tourists around it.
So much for the bare facts. There are all sorts of other disputed "facts". The US say that it was well outside DPRK waters, the DPRK say it wasn't. The US say that the crew were kept in bad conditions, endured torture and mock executions to make them confess and were generally mistreated. The DPRK say there was no torture, the crew were kept in good conditions and the confessions were genuine.
After our visit to the War Museum we went to see the Pueblo. We were shown around the ship by the same guide that we had had at the museum and given the North Korean version of events. It was a rather eerie experience that reminded me a little of the trip around a captured U-boat that you can do in the Science Museum in Chicago. They have done very little with the ship apart from painting red circles round every bullet hole and shell mark on the ship to draw attention to the effects of the battle. Every area of the ship is paraded to the public to show what the DPRK claim the Americans were up to. We saw the electronic surveillance equipment, the arms lockers, the gun deck guns, the code room and so on. We were also shown a video about the incident. It was actually quite hard to keep a straight face during this as it was delivered with a stirring musical background and an overblown pomposity that undermined the message it was trying to give. We would come across more examples of this kind of misguided rhetoric later. Someone really should explain to the people who produced these videos for them just why they would achieve a better result with a less theatrical style.
On the dockside there is also a glass case containing a spy-torpedo packed with electronic equipment, allegedly captured some years later.
After our visit to the Pueblo we were informed that our luggage was now in the DPRK and waiting for us back out at the airport. This meant that any other activities planned for the day would need to be abandoned while we fetched it all. I don't think anyone was too bothered by that, so we climbed into the bus, and drove out to the airport.
I'd been expecting a long-winded process but all we had to do was pick them up and sign for them and we were on our way. The drive to the airport took forty minutes, the drive back another forty and the actual collecting of the luggage no more than two. This meant that we had time to visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Monument as a coda to our day of military sightseeing. This monument consists of a large area paved in white flagstones with rows of bronze statues along each side depicting heroic military figures engaged in battle with the DPRK's enemies. At the end of the park is a large statue of another, single heroic figure. Unfortunately the pose makes the soldier look as if he is about to burst into a quick rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which rather undermines the dramatic gravity of the memorial.
By the time we saw the memorial, twilight was falling and the park was empty and we could only spend a few minutes there before we had to hurry off to another meal, then back to the hotel for a shower and a change of clothes, and a couple of beers.
It was fortunate that we had our luggage back. Tomorrow we needed our best clothes, smart trousers and shirts, and - if we had them - ties. We were going to visit the Kumusan Memorial Palace, the Mausoleum in which Kim Il Sung lies in state.
I'd been expecting a long-winded process but all we had to do was pick them up and sign for them and we were on our way. The drive to the airport took forty minutes, the drive back another forty and the actual collecting of the luggage no more than two. This meant that we had time to visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Monument as a coda to our day of military sightseeing. This monument consists of a large area paved in white flagstones with rows of bronze statues along each side depicting heroic military figures engaged in battle with the DPRK's enemies. At the end of the park is a large statue of another, single heroic figure. Unfortunately the pose makes the soldier look as if he is about to burst into a quick rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which rather undermines the dramatic gravity of the memorial.
By the time we saw the memorial, twilight was falling and the park was empty and we could only spend a few minutes there before we had to hurry off to another meal, then back to the hotel for a shower and a change of clothes, and a couple of beers.
It was fortunate that we had our luggage back. Tomorrow we needed our best clothes, smart trousers and shirts, and - if we had them - ties. We were going to visit the Kumusan Memorial Palace, the Mausoleum in which Kim Il Sung lies in state.
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