PUEBLO SITREP

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00847715
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2021
• Case Number: F-2018-00781
• Publication Date: January 23, 1968

Approved for Release: 2021/03/25 C00847715
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Sc No. 01892/68
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
23 January 19.68
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
PUEBLO SITREP
1. Pyongyang's public stance suggests the
North Koreans intend to hold the Pueblo crew for
4 considerable period of time and attempt to ex:-
ploit the incident for propaganda purposes.
2. Pyongyang has not yet made its intentions
clear regarding the disposition of the captured
personnel. The North Korean radio has portrayed
the alleged intrusion of a US "spy boat" as a
"grave provocative act" in retaliation for last
Sunday's "surprise attack on the enemy" in the
South Korean capital of Seoul.
3. In the most recent previous incident in-
volving the capture of US military personnel, two
helicopter pilots shot down in North Korea in May
1963 near the Demilitarized Zone were held in
custody for a year. During this time Pyongyang
failed to respond to a variety of non-military
pressures and attempted to pin charges of "espion-
age" and "criminal intent" on the fliers.
4. The seizure of the Pueblo was well planned
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5. South Korean and US forces are continuing
a massive search for the remaining members of the
North Korean guerrilla team that fought its way
into Seoul over the weekend. North of the capital
there have been minor firing incidents involving
US troops manning the southern boundary of the
Demilitarized Zone. It is not clear whether these
involved the retreating agent team or a new group
of infiltrators.
6. A US Task Force led by the nuclear powered
aircraft carrier Enterprise is steaming to a rendez-
vous point south of the Demilitarized Zone. This
Task Force is authorized only to take aggressive
protective measures in the event of armed attack.
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Approved for Release: 2021/03/25 C00847715