Pueblo compensation ruling[횡설수설/이철희]

-The Pueblo, a US military intelligence-gathering vessel captured by North Korea in the East Sea on January 23, 1968, is on display along the Daedong River in Pyongyang. It is the place where the US commercial ship General Sherman was burned down after a clash with the Korean army in 1866. North Korea propagates that the hero who led the sinking was Kim Il-sung’s great-grandfather. How the big trap in Wonsan was moved is still a mystery. It would have been secretly transported by sea via the south and west seas, or disassembled and transported by land, but both would have been challenging.

▷ The Pueblo incident, which occurred two days after the January 21st, when Kim Shin-jo’s party raided the Blue House, was the worst case of humiliation to the United States during the Cold War. The apology signed by the U.S. Army commander after 11 months of secret negotiations for the release of 83 detainees (including one dead body) was this. “We take full responsibility and solemnly apologize for invading territorial waters and committing severe spying, and in the future… .” Before signing, the United States issued a statement that completely denied the content, saying, “It was only for the rescue of the crew,” but the apology was sufficient as North Korean propaganda data.

▷ The crew suffered from all sorts of torture and left traces of resistance everywhere. In the group photo, only the middle finger appeared, subtly expressing the meaning of rebellion and insult, and in the confession, the age and military number were falsely written and’Praise Kim Il-sung’ and sounded like’pee on’. Hymn)’ was used. But what awaited them was a brief welcoming followed by an investigation of the authorities, a parliamentary hearing, and the aftereffects of torture. Prisoners of war medals were awarded to them in 1990, 20 years later.

The Pueblo is an active ship that remains on the list of US Navy ships. ‘No one left behind’ is an expression of the will to recover someday and officially retire according to the US military principle. Perhaps that is why the Pueblo has emerged as a target of diplomatic transactions or a call for return, depending on the ups and downs of North Korea-US relations. In the early 2000s, debates over the proposal of North Korea’s return to North Korea were dismissed due to the second North Korean nuclear crisis, and a resolution demanding the return of the US Congress is coming out every time. ▷ The Washington Federal Court recently ruled in North Korea to pay 2.3 billion dollars (about 2.58 trillion won) to 171 people including the crew of the Pueblo, their families and their bereaved families. It is the largest amount of compensation ever ordered by a US court in North Korea. Like the death of Otto Warmbier, which has already been sentenced to pay $500 million in compensation, the move to secure compensation by seizing North Korean assets in the US and abroad is expected to take off. Another negative factor has increased in the long-term deadlock between North Korea and the United States, where no breakthrough has been seen. Editorial Writer Lee Cheol-hee [email protected]