Posted on 07/30/2013 5:41:18 PM PDT by Ronald_Magnus
PYONGYANG — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un unveiled Saturday a renovated Korean War museum with a US-baiting centrepiece in the form of the spy ship USS Pueblo, captured in 1968.
Kim, wearing his trademark black Mao suit,cut the red ribbon on the monumental Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum after inspecting an honour guard in front of thousands of war veterans and invited foreign guests.
Entering the museum's main doors, the first sight greeting visitors is a four-metre high coloured statue of what looks remarkably like Kim, but turns out to be a youthful representation of his grandfather and the nation's founder Kim Il-Sung.
Much of the museum collection is a paean to Kim Il-Sung's strategic battlefield brilliance -- credited with bettering the might of the US military in the Korean War.
The 1950-53 conflict essentially ended with North and South Korea occupying the same territory they held at the start, but the 1953 armistice is celebrated in the North as "Victory Day".
The museum opening coincided with the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire, which was never cemented with a treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war.
Giant statues aside, the main draw of the museum is the USS Pueblo, berthed on the river bank next to the main museum building.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
I think it would be fascinating to visit the ship. Do any of you other Freepers feel the same way? Would we be doing the crew a disservice? Would it be shameful to let North Korea have any of our tourist dollars? I looked into this trip. It would be a matter of getting to Bejing and then traveling to PYONGYANG by train with a tour group. I'd like to hear what the rest of you think.
the hull of that ship must be paper thin by now
Its a propaganda tour. They make you hear lectures and watch video about how evil America is, right there on the boat
“I think it would be fascinating to visit the ship”
I would be more fascinated at how many of these commie sh*ts I could strangle.
Still a commissioned ship of the United States Navy. We should either go recapture it or drop the big one on it.
“Its a propaganda tour. They make you hear lectures and watch video about how evil America is, right there on the boat”
I get that, but it would come off as just a joke to any sane person.
Bomb the sucker.
Communist news lies there, just as it lies here.
Good Lord-—I remember that incident.
Sixty years ago-—seems like yesterday.
.
To me it feels like it happened in 1968.
After 60 years, getting it back would be worthless. I vote Cruise missile.
Yep, would like to see if they replaced the old WLR-1 that was aboard.
As a side note, as an old USN First Lieutenant, I can tell from the photograph below that they did not scrape the old paint and rust off the stanchions before they painted it. That's shoddy seamanship and it's not gonna work out well for them. (First Lieutenant on a ship is a billet not a rank and supervises the Deck Division and is responsible for the appearance and proper maintenance of the outside of ship from the waterline to the top of the mast.)
The Korean War ended 60 years ago.
The Pueblo was Captured in 1968. I remember the incident. I was 16 years old.
The ship was captured in 1968, The 60 years refers to the Korean cease fire not the age of the ship.
The ship was launched at the Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, on 16 April 1944, as the United States Army Freight and Passenger (FP) FP-344. The Army later redesignated the FP vessels as Freight and Supply changing the designation to FS-344.[6] The ship, commissioned at New Orleans on 7 April 1945, served as a Coast Guard manned Army vessel used for training civilians for the Army. Her first commanding officer was Lt. J. R. Choate, USCGR, succeeded by Lt. J.G. Marvin B. Barker, USCGR, on 12 September 1945.[7] The FS-344 was placed out of service in 1954.
The FS-344 was transferred to the United States Navy on April 12, 1966 and was renamed USS Pueblo (AKL-44) after Pueblo County, Colorado on June 18 of the same year. The Pueblo is the third U.S. Navy ship to be named after the city of Pueblo or Pueblo County.
Initially, she served as a light cargo ship, AKL-44, but shortly after resuming service was converted to an intelligence gathering ship, or what is colloquially known as a spy ship, and redesignated AGER-2 on 13 May 1967. AGER (Auxiliary General Environmental Research) denoted a joint Naval and National Security Agency (NSA) program
“ended” isn’t the right word.
North Korea has staged occasional strikes and attacks on South Korea. Technically they are still at war.
I hear you. There have been many acts of war in the last 60 years. The seizing of the USS Pueblo is one of them.
Is it 2028?
Yea!Rhe Norks should feel really proud capturing an unarmed Intelligence ship.What a wreck of a Government.
Hopefully ours doesn’t go thaty way though Obama would sure like to see it.After all,He has to be loved.
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