Posted on 11/09/2007 9:32:02 AM PST by RDTF
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea expressed rare gratitude Thursday for U.S. help in ending a high-seas standoff with Somali pirates, a sign of warming ties between the longtime foes fostered by progress on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament.
The U.S. Navy's aid to North Korean sailors last week was unprecedented in the half century of hostility between the Cold War enemies, according to the Naval Historical Center in Washington.
The North's Korean Central News Agency hailed the maritime collaboration as a "symbol of cooperation" between the two countries "in the struggle against terrorism."
"The pirates' recent armed attack on our trading ship was a grave terrorist act perpetrated against a peaceful ship," KCNA said. "We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen."
The last notable maritime encounter between the two countries was in 1968, when the North seized the USS Pueblo while it was on an intelligence-gathering mission off the North Korean coast and held 82 Americans as prisoners of war for 11 months.
The USS Pueblo is the only active-duty U.S. warship in the hands of a foreign power and remains on display as a tourist attraction in Pyongyang. Navy records show the ship was in international waters when it was captured, but North Korea insists it was inside the Korean coastal zone.
In a dramatic turnabout nearly four decades later, the U.S. Navy came to the aid of the North Korean cargo ship Dai Hong Dan, whose crew overpowered Somali pirates in a bloody battle.
-snip-
In an unusually detailed report, the KCNA news agency said the USS James E. Williams and a helicopter rushed to the scene and "helped the (North Korean) sailors in fighting, threatening the pirates" via radio.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
As Clint Eatswood said in Heart Break Ridge, “That doesn’t mean we’ll be taking showers together”.
If he really wants to say thanks then he can sail the USS Pueblo back south, we gave him his ship back, he can return the favor.
Generally, Ronery’s gratitude doesn’t rast rong.
Kimmy is still ronery.
I used the search word “piracy” (but I remembered the thread.)
Glad it all worked out. The NK’s got their ship back. Now, what the NK’s needs to do is give us back the USS Pueblo. As reagan_fanatic said in post #8, return it, unmolested, and that will be that. It would go a long way to normalizing relationships. There would be a boat load of other issues to deal with, also. Just start by giving our ship back. Quid pro quo.
You left out the best part of the quote: “That doesn’t mean we’ll be swapping spit in the showers”
The "pirate force" was no such thing --it was a Somali security team that was providing a SERVICE to the DPRK's while weapons were being offloaded to onshore BUYERS...!
But when the US showed up, whaddya think is worse:
1. "Oh these dastardly pirates..! Help...!"
OR
2. "Oh, well, we blackies and DPRK's were just offloading these here weapons to Muzzie warlords entrusted to fight against US allies, the Ethiopians...!!"
WHICH ONE...?
And why would the US Ship insist on escorting the DPRK ship to the nearest port to offload the "pirates" from the DPRK ship for proper judgement?
Was it because (as the US ship claimed) cuz they feard the DPRK's would do the "pirates" in, or because the Americans feared, that the muzzies were DPRK PARTNERS and NO PROSECUTION was waiting for them...?
When you eat tree-bark soup, you do biz with ANYONE, and that goes double if the clients are America haters...
HAHAHAHHAHAHAAH! I like that...!
OH PLEASE FREEPERS TELL ME THIS DOESN'T SMELL FUNNY TO YOU...!?
Pray tell --*When* does a dirty, drug-dealing, weapon-proliferating DPRK dog kiss Yankee ass...?
ANSWER -- When something ELSE is WAY WORSE...!
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