<p>Senator Demands North Koreans Return USS Pueblo </p>
<p>By JENNIFER TALHELM, The Associated Press
Apr 18, 2007 </p>
<p>WASHINGTON - Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard is suggesting that the United States return a Korean general’s battle flag in exchange for a war trophy on display in the North Korean capital Pyongyang - the spy ship USS Pueblo. </p>
<p>The Pueblo, named for the city 100 miles south of Denver, is the only active-duty U.S. warship in the hands of a foreign power, and the first captured since 1807. It was taken on Jan. 23, 1968, after being sent defenseless on an intelligence-gathering mission off the North Korean coast. </p>
<p>Allard, a Republican, asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday to look into his idea for an exchange. He also introduced a resolution in the Senate, which has previously rejected similar proposals demanding the ship’s return. </p>
<p>“Since the USS Pueblo bears the name of the town of Pueblo, Colo., many in our state want to see the vessel returned to its proper home,” Allard wrote in a letter to Rice. "North Korea continues to hint at the possible return of the captured U.S. Navy ship, and I ask that you take action at this opportune time. </p>
<p>Some Colorado veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars have been working to arrange the ship’s return. Allard said they suggested exchanging it for the flag, which was captured from Korean Gen. Uh Je Yeon in an 1871 battle on Kanghwa Island. The flag is on display at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. </p>
<p>The Pueblo “belongs to the United States Navy and we should pursue all possible options to return her to a rightful resting place,” Allard wrote. </p>
<p>A spokeswoman for Rice said she could not comment immediately on the letter. </p>
<p>Navy records show the Pueblo was in international waters when it was captured, though North Korea insists it was inside the Korean coastal zone. One person was killed in an explosion during the attack, and 10 of the 82 surviving crewmen were wounded. All 82 were held 11 months before being sent to South Korea on Christmas Eve, 1968. </p>
<p>The North Koreans display the ship as a trophy and a monument to the rocky relationship between the two nations. Presidential candidate Bill Richardson and other U.S. officials were given a tour of the Pueblo during a visit this month to collect the remains of American servicemen killed in the Korean War. </p>
<p>They were told that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il, had decreed that the ship should be used for “an anti-American education.” </p>
<p>Organized tours of North Koreans walk its decks to view evidence of their country’s supremacy on the high seas; bullet holes on the bulkheads are circled in red. </p>
<p>In September 2005, the North Koreans suggested they would be willing to return the ship if they received a visit from Rice or another top-level American official…</p>
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