During the Vietnam War, the 1968 capture of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) by North Korea triggered a serious international standoff. The ship, tasked with gathering intelligence, was operating in international waters when North Korean forces intercepted it. Pyongyang claimed the Pueblo had entered their territory. With American forces already tied up in Vietnam, the U.S. decided not to escalate the situation into another war.
The 83 crew members were held captive for nearly a year, suffering beatings, forced confessions, and mental abuse. Despite the harsh treatment, they found ways to push back—famously giving the middle finger in propaganda photos and telling their captors it was a “Hawaiian good luck sign.”
On December 23, 1968, the crew was released and walked to freedom across the Bridge of No Return in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The ship itself, however, was never returned. North Korea still holds the Pueblo, displaying it in Pyongyang as a trophy and symbol of resistance. It remains the only U.S. Navy ship officially still held by a foreign government.
USS Pueblo (AGER-2) prior to becoming a spy ship
The Banner-class cargo ship FP-344/FS-344 was originally commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1944 and transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard in April 1945. During this period, her primary role was training civilians for Army service, a duty she carried out until being decommissioned in 1954.
More than a decade later, the ship underwent major modifications and was renamed USS Pueblo (AKL-44). She was converted into a light cargo vessel with additional upgrades that enabled her to serve as an environmental research platform, now designated as AGER-2.
In this new role, Pueblo’s mission expanded to include gathering intelligence for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the National Security Agency (NSA).
USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is deployed to North Korea
By 1967, the USS Pueblo had completed shakedown training and was prepared for its first espionage mission. On January 5, 1968, the ship set sail with the goal of gathering intelligence on both North Korea and the Soviet Navy. Eleven days later, the Pueblo reached the 42nd parallel, ready to patrol the North Korean coastline while staying at least 13 nautical miles away from shore.
On January 23, 1968, North Korea launched an attack on the Pueblo. The spy ship was spotted by a submarine chaser, which issued an ultimatum: surrender or face fire. Although the Pueblo tried to flee, its slower speed made it impossible to evade the threat.
The submarine chaser was soon joined by four torpedo boats, another chaser, and two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft. Armed with only a few handguns and two M2 Browning machine guns, the Pueblo and her crew were severely outgunned. Despite this, they put up resistance for as long as possible to prevent the North Koreans from boarding.
North Korea captures the USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
When the USS Pueblo arrived near the port city of Wonsan, the crew rushed to destroy as much classified information as they could. But in order to do that, the ship had to slow down, which made it an easy target.
North Korean forces began shooting at the ship with a 57 mm cannon and machine guns, hitting it and killing one crew member, Duane Hodges. Two others were injured in the attack, including U.S. Marine Sgt. Bob Chicca. Eventually, the North Koreans boarded the ship, blindfolded the crew, and tied their hands.
After being taken to shore, the captured sailors were subjected to harsh physical abuse by their captors.
American sailors were held captive for months
During the attack on the USS Pueblo, the crew managed to establish radio contact with US forces in South Korea. Chicca later recounted, “The last conversations we got over the radio were that help was on the way, and it obviously wasn’t. I could not believe that we would be abandoned out there the way we were.”
Despite promises of assistance from a squadron of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, they never arrived. they never arrived. As a result, the 82 crew members were captured and endured 11 months of torture by their captors. Chicca reflected, “We were an experiment that was deemed, I don’t know whether it would be a failure, but it certainly didn’t work.”
After enduring months of psychological torment, the North Koreans eventually forced a confession from commanding officer Lloyd Bucher. He admitted to intruding on their territorial waters and committing hostile acts, but only under the threat that each crew member would be killed one by one if he refused.
Signing the three A’s document
At the time of the USS Pueblo’s capture, the United States was deeply involved in the Vietnam War. Concerned that tensions with North Korea could escalate, American officials pursued a diplomatic approach to address the crisis. After nearly a year, both nations reached an agreement that allowed for the safe return of the Pueblo’s crew.
On December 23, 1968, US Army Maj. Gilbert Woodward signed a document known as the “three A’s agreement,” drafted by North Korean authorities. This agreement required the United States to acknowledge wrongdoing, apologize, and pledge to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Following this, the crew members were released and returned to the United States, while the Pueblo remained in North Korean possession. Initially displayed in Wonsan and Hŭngnam, the vessel was eventually moved to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang.
USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is still held captive
When North Korean forces captured the USS Pueblo, they seized 10 encryption machines and thousands of top-secret documents, resulting in one of the most significant intelligence breaches of the Cold War. The classified material provided North Korea—and likely its allies—with valuable insight into U.S. communications and surveillance operations.
Despite being in enemy hands, the Pueblo is still considered active by the U.S. Navy, making it one of the longest-serving commissioned ships in the fleet. Today, it sits moored in Pyongyang, where it has been turned into a museum exhibit and propaganda symbol. The ship receives periodic upkeep, including a fresh paint job in honor of the Korean War anniversary.
In 2017, after President Donald Trump redesignated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, surviving crew members and families of the deceased took legal action under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. A U.S. court awarded them $2.3 billion in damages in 2021. However, the prospects of actually collecting any of that money remain uncertain due to the lack of direct financial channels between the U.S. and North Korea.