WEEKLY REVIEW

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 15886936
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2021
• Case Number: F-2018-00781
• Publication Date: February 16, 1968

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CONTENTS
(Information as of noon EST, 15 February 1968)
Far East
THE WEEK IN PERSPECTIVE
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THE PUEBLO CASE HANGS FIRE
No progress is visible in the Pueblo case although
bilateral talks continue at Panmunjom.
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THE PUEBLO CASE HANGS FIRE
No
is visible in
Anniversary
Premier
in_pyongyang,
the
eral
tinuing.
progress
Pueblo case although bilat-
Kim Il-song
of a "gangster
which proved
ings" for a
accused the Pueblo
talks at Panmunjom are con-
-like, piratic act"
that "US maneuver-
new Korean war had
During the celebration of
reached a "grave stage." He in-
the
"Korean People's Army" 20th
sisted that
the North Koreans do
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not want war, but warned the US
would get "only corpses" if it
tried to solve the case through
"threat and blackmail."
Pyongyang publicized a
second, more detailed "confes-
sion" by Pueblo captain Bucher
and published four photos of al-
leged US documents which place
the vessel in North Korean ter-
ritorial waters on six occasions.
Despite Pyongyang's charges
of an armed incursion this week,
the level of incidents along the
DMZ has been low. Pressure for
some action against the north re-
mains high in Seoul, however.
South Korean officials re-
treated somewhat from last week's
charges of US "appeasement" of
North Korea. In talks with Cyrus
Vance, President Pak seemed to be
out to use South Korean dissatis-
faction over US handling of the
Pueblo incident to extract the
maximum military aid and political
concessions from Washington.
Seoul has been dissatisfied with
the rate of modernization of
South Korean forces and South
Korea's lack of voice in UN Com-
mand decisions. Initial South
Korean reactions to the Vance
mission reveal some dissatisfac-
tion with the outcome and sug-
gest that Seoul will continue to
seek additional US commitments.
Soviet Party Secretary Pono-
marev visited Pyongyang on 9 and
10 February following his visit
to Tokyo where he and politburo
member Suslov had held talks with
the Japanese Communist Party.
Ponomarev probably used the oc-
casion to brief the North Koreans
on the upcoming international Com-
munist consultative meeting in
Budapest and to test the present
mood in Pyongyang in light of the
Pueblo affair. North Korea has
long opposed such an international
Communist meeting and does not
plan to send a delegation. Pono-
marev's visit, though offering a
gesture of Moscow's "fraternal"
solidarity with North Korea, pro-
vided no indication that the So-
viets had departed from their
policy of minimal involvement
in the Pueblo issue.
Fifteen Soviet ships, five
of them armed with missiles are
deployed off Korea. Although most
have remained in the Sea of Japan
north of the 38th parallel, a few
have moved south of the line and
are trailing the American task
force.
North Korean military activ-
ity has returned nearly to levels
and patterns of activit seen in
revious years.
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