The Capture of the USS Pueblo - The Incident, the Aftermath and the Motives of North Korea

For President Lyndon Johnson, 1968 was a year of calamity, including the hijacking of the USS Pueblo in international waters off North Korea. After a fierce attack by the North Korean Navy, the lightly armed spy ship was captured and its 83 crewmen taken hostage, imprisoned and tortured for nearly a year before being released.
How and why did the Navy, the National Security Agency and the Johnson administration place the Pueblo in such an untenable situation? What drove Kim Il-sung, North Korea's autocrat, to gamble on hijacking a ship belonging to the world's most powerful nation?
Drawing on extensive research, including summaries of White House meetings and conversations, the author answers these questions and reviews the events and flawed decisions that led to Pueblo's capture.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction

One-The Ships

Destroyers and Liberty Ships

USS Liberty

Clickbeetle-The Spy Ships

The Pueblo

Orders

Rule of the Sea

Two-Leadership and Risk Analysis

Leadership

Risk Analysis

Three-Reactions

On the Pueblo

Within the Military Chain of Command

Within the Intelligence Community

In South Korea

In the Situation Room, Washington

At the White House

Reaction of Congress

Reaction of the Public

Four-Juche-Why North Korea Seized the Pueblo

The Washington Viewpoint

The North Korean Perspective

Juche

Elements of Juche

The Propaganda of North Korea

The Effect of Juche and Kim's Propaganda on the Treatment of the Pueblo Prisoners

Five-Negotiations for Freedom

Six-The Navy Court of Inquiry

Epilogue

Chapter Notes

Sources Consulted

Index

About the author

James Duermeyer is the award winning author of five historical novels. He is a retired U.S. Navy Commander and lives in the Fort Worth area of Texas.

Product details

• Authors: James Duermeyer
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 03.01.2019
• EAN: 9781476675404
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-7540-4
• No. of pages: 209
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 11 mm
• Weight: 286 g
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Vietnam, Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, HISTORY / Military / General, military history, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Battles & campaigns, Modern warfare, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General, Specific wars and military campaigns