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Witness History

The Capture of the USS Pueblo

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.51.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2018

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A US spy ship was caught by North Korean forces in the Sea of Japan on January 23rd 1968. Its crew were held prisoner for almost a year before being released. In 2012 Chloe Hadjimatheou spoke to Skip Schumacher, one of the young Americans on board.

Photo: Members of the USS Pueblo's crew being taken into custody. Credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service

Transcript

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0:00.0

Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless

0:06.8

searching is a nightmare we want to help you on our brand new podcast off the

0:11.8

telly we share what we've been watching

0:14.0

Cladie Aide.

0:16.0

Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming.

0:19.0

Lovely. Off the telly with me Joanna Paige.

0:21.0

And me, Natalie Cassidy, so your evenings can be a little less searching

0:25.7

and a lot more auction. Listen on BBC Sounds.

0:29.2

Hello and thank you for downloading Witness the History programme from the BBC World Service.

0:35.6

On January 23rd, 1968, a US naval intelligence ship was captured by North Korean forces in the Sea of Japan.

0:45.0

In 2012, Chloe Hadjimuthieu spoke to Skip Schumacher, one of the American crew members taken prisoner.

0:52.0

The few tourists who visit North Korea each year are often invited to see an American military

0:57.3

trawler, the Pueblo, which is mored along the Teedong River in Pyongyang.

1:02.2

Guided tours are offered by officials keen to capitalize on the fact

1:05.8

that their country still has the only US Navy ship currently being held captive.

1:11.6

And a video plays to those on board recounting events in a triumphant tone.

1:17.0

The brave seamen of our people's army captured Pribler, the armed spaceship of the U.S. Imperialist which was conducting espionage in our

1:25.1

territorial waters and over 80 aggressors and broader ship. It all started on January

1:30.8

the 2nd 1968 when a small trawler disguised as a scientific vessel

1:36.2

set sail from Japan. In fact the USS Pueblo was a spy ship carrying high-tech

1:42.4

communications equipment and a crew of more than 80, many of whom

1:46.8

were experts in decoding the messages they hoped to intercept from the North Korean military.

...

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