Release Of Pueblo Crew Believed Agreed

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31596, 6 February 1968, Page 13

Release Of Pueblo Crew Believed Agreed

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

TOKYO, February 5.

The South Korean news agency, Hapdong, reported today that the United States and North Korea had reached agreement in principle for the release of the 83-man crew of the Pueblo.

The agency quoted reliable sources as re-

porting that the agreement was reached today during the private talks which the United States and North Korea have been holding at Parununjom, in the demilitarised border zone between North and South Korea.

The “New York Times” News Service reported that two senior Administration officials said today that the United States was unable to rule out the possibility that the Pueblo entered North Korean territorial waters at some point before it was seized on January 23. The Secretary of Defence, Mr Robert McNamara, and the Secretary of State, Mr Dean Rusk, said the exact course of the ship could not be known until the skipper and 81 surviving crewmen were returned to United States custody and questioned. If this interrogation revealed that during a 10-day period of radio silence the Pueblo had in fact strayed

within 12 miles of the North Korean coast line, Mr Rusk said, “we will make those facts available.” Both Cabinet members insisted that the ship was under the “strictest orders” not to violate any territorial waters. Both expressed the belief that it did not do so but the North Koreans have claimed repeated infractions of the 12mile limit. The two were interviewed together on the National Broadcasting Company's television programme “Meet the Press.” Mr Rusk said a third meeting last night between United States representatives and the North Koreans at Panmunjom had brought no new sign that the crisis could be quickly resolved. The North Koreans showed no willingness, he said, to provide even the names of the crew reported to have died or those said to have been injured when the vessel was seized.

Mr Rusk specifically refused to confirm a South Korean report that the North Koreans had agreed to release the body of the dead crew member and the wounded seaman. “We met with them a little more than 12 hours ago,” Mr Rusk said, “and I have no information

that indicates they are prepared to do so.” Indicating that diplomatic procedures would continue in the attempt to free the crew and the ship, Mr McNamara also disclosed that the United States had moved three aircraft carriers into Korean waters, as well as unspecified air support, as military precautions in case the crisis intensifies.

Mr Rusk stopped short of saying that the United States would apologise if investigation showed there had been a border violation. The North Koreans have made such an apology a condition for obtaining the release of the ship and its crew. But by disclosing that the ship had beeti out of radio contact for the period from January 10 until January 21 two days before its capture off Wonsan Bay—Mr McNamara opened the possibility for a subsequent admission of error by the United States which might assist in the negotiations to resolve the crisis. He was asked whether the skipper of the Pueblo, Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, would be disciplined upon his release if there had been a violation of orders. “We would always discipline a commander if he violated his instructions consciously or through negligence,” he replied.

“We have no evidence that he did here—l certainly wouldn’t want to predict any action we would take following his return.” The Defence Secretary said the radio silence was essential to the Pueblo’s mission—presumably to- avoid detection by Communist counter-intelli-gence monitors while the Pueblo itself was monitoring North Korean communications. Mr McNamara said the Pueblo had succeeded in going undetected by the North Koreans for 10 or 12 days. Other sources noted, however, that on January 20 the North Koreans formally protested about border intrusions by “armed spy boats”. The protest, made at a meeting of the Military Armistice Commission at Panmunjom, apparently went unnoticed in Washington. It was not until January 29, nearly a week after the Pueblo’s seizure, that the State Department could locate a transcript of the meeting

at which the protest had been made. Last week Mr McNamara said that he knew of no such protest having been delivered.