S. Korea Protests To U.S.

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31597, 7 February 1968, Page 13

S. Korea Protests To U.S.

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) SEOUL, Feb. 6. South Korea officially informed the United States today of its opposition to the secret talks between America and North Korea about the release of the intelligence ship Pueblo and its crew, the Associated Press reports.

The South Korean Prime Minister (Chung U Kwon) is reported to have handed a note of protest to the United States Ambassador (Mr William Porter), expressing his discontent over the Panmunjom talks between RearAdmiral John Smith, of the United States Navy, and a North Korean major-general.

The Information Minister (Hong Jung-chul) said Mr

Porter was told that South Korea “might have to take unilateral self-defence measures to protect its sovereignty unless the United States changes its lukewarm attitude towards the threat of an invasion from the north.” Observers say the Prime Minister’s protest appeared to be a hint that the South Koreans might withdraw their contingent of 40,000 troops from Vietnam.

Other measures might involve the cancellation of a call-up of reserves and the cancellation of the agreement which -places the operational control of South Korea’s

armed forces under United Nations command. South Korea has been extremely critical of the Pueblo crisis talks on the ground that the United States “is paying too much attention to the spy ship incident and not enough to a recent North Korean attempt on the life of President Chung Hee Park.”

South Korean officials are also reported to be upset because they were not adequately informed beforehand of the talks. In Washington, the State Department denied a report by South Korean sources that the body of one of the crew

had already been returned to American authorities. “We deny it flatly—there is absolutely no truth in it,” a spokesman for the department said. The South Korean account said the body had been flown to the United States aircraft carrier Enterprise, which was manoeuvring in the Sea of Japan.

Student demonstrations in Seoul against America, the first in five years, were held outside the United States Embassy today to denounce the secret dealings with North Korea.