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water zone claimed by North Korea and was 15 nautical miles from the<br />

coast in international waters when seized. However, the navigator said<br />

that the Pueblo had been about four miles inside the 12 nautical miles<br />

claimed by North Korea, which caused controversies.<br />

At the NNSC meeting held on December 24, the Commission<br />

welcomed the release of the crew. According to the Swiss Lieutenant<br />

Colonel Jean-David Bettex (1993), the release of the crew was achieved<br />

thanks to the dogged and competent work by the Swiss Delegation<br />

Chief, Major General Pierre Barbey, who took charge of the return.<br />

Similarly, compatriot Major General Bernard A. Sandoz writes (1993)<br />

that the NNSC and, in particular, Major General Barbey played a<br />

decisive role in bringing North Korea and the US together to discuss<br />

and resolve the crisis. The crisis, along with the Czech and Polish<br />

members’ neutral attitude and cooperation, resulted in unified actions<br />

and better understanding within the Commission. 186<br />

What were the North Korean objectives behind the Pueblo affair?<br />

According to Downs (1999), the ostensible objective of the negotiations<br />

had been to obtain an official “letter of apology” from the US<br />

government, but the actual objective was more complex: to create<br />

friction between South Korea and the US, to incite South Koreans to<br />

bring down their government and to humiliate the US, to garner<br />

respect from the socialist countries and to spread fear among Western<br />

186_ Bettex, “Die Geschicte der Neutralen Ueberwachungskommission (NNSC) für<br />

den Waffenstillestand in Korea (1953-1983),” pp. 15, 24; Downs, ibid., pp. 3,<br />

145; Lee, ibid., 1998(c), p. 9: ibid., 2001(a), pp. 27, 39; Lerner, ibid., pp. 221,<br />

225, 227; Sandoz, “Conclusion,” pp. 337, 340; Sergel, op. cit., December 1968, p.<br />

17; Swiss officer, letter May 31, 2006. Original quotation marks. Neither Bettex<br />

nor Sandoz record any details of the work by General Barbey. The Secretary of the<br />

Navy’s statement is recorded in Gallery, op. cit., pp. 169-174.<br />

228 Peace-keeping in the Korean Peninsula

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