09-151.pdf

international fact-finding organization, perhaps one named by the
International Court, and that such an inquiry could not take place
while North Korea still held the crew. At the next meeting held on
March 4, Major General Pak dismissed the third-party inquiry and
repeated that the demands for the return of the crew would be
considered only if the proper apology and assurances were tendered
based on the “confessions” of the crew. He played tapes of more “confessions”
of the crew and said: “Don’t expect the crew for nothing.
Accept our proposal so that we can discuss concrete business-like
matters for the return of crew.” Admiral Smith maintained his position
not to tender an apology. At the 264th MAC meeting convened on
March 7, North Korea again displayed old pictures of the South
Korean patrol boat PCE-56 that was sunk in January 1967 and
photographs of the American helicopter crew which was forced down
in the North in May 1963 with the photos of “apologies” submitted by
the UNC Commander and his MAC Senior Member to effect the
release of the crew.
On March 10, Radio P’yôngyang domestic service carried a
commentary from the party newspaper Rodong Sinmun (Workers’
Daily) on “How the Pueblo case should be resolved” that made the
following key points:
“The crewmen of the armed spy ship Pueblo are criminals caught in the act
of committing a grave crime against our country. Therefore, they should be
duly punished by the law of the DPRK. At present the crewmen...are
repeatedly imploring the DPRK Government to pardon them leniently,
while confessing and apologizing for their crimes. Recently, they [the U.S.]
have even been spreading “public opinion” that they would investigate the
true facts of the incident after the crewmen are returned, or that some
international organization, for instance, the international tribunal, should
be delegated to conduct such an investigation....If the U.S. imperialists
Rising Tensions on the Korean Peninsula during the 1960s
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