Rep. Tipton Files Resolution for Return of North Korea-Seized U.S. Ship – By Griffin Connolly (rollcall.com) / May 18 2018
USS Pueblo has been on display in North Korea since its capture in 1968
Rep. Scott Tipton introduced a resolution in the House this week seeking the return of a U.S. Navy spy vessel that has been in North Korean captivity for more than half a century.
Tipton’s request for the North Korean government to return the USS Pueblo comes less than a month before the planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong-Un on June 12 in Singapore.
The House would “welcome the return of the USS Pueblo as a sign of good faith from the North Korean people to the American people” ahead of the summit that will focus on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, Tipton’s resolution states.
The vessel is currently on display in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
“It has been 50 years since the USS Pueblo was unlawfully seized by the North Korean government from international waters, and we will never forget the horrors that its crew endured at the hands of their captors,” Tipton said in a news release.
One member of the ship’s crew, Duane Hodges, was killed when the Pueblo was captured on Jan. 23, 1968. Eighty-two others were held for 11 months, often in harsh conditions.
“This remains an important issue for many Pueblo residents and Coloradans including surviving veterans,” said Tipton, whose district includes the city of Pueblo.
Earlier this week, Kim threatened to pull out of the scheduled meeting in Singapore next month after U.S. and South Korean troops recently performed a routine joint military exercise that had been planned for months.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/rep-tipton-files-resolution-return-north-korea-seized-u-s-ship
