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Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula 1968-1969 a Critical Oral History Edited by Christian F

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Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula 1968-1969 a Critical Oral History Edited by Christian F Please adjust the spine width, if necessary, and please keep the “w” centered. THANKS! A CRISIS ON THE KOREAN AND PENINSULA CONFRONTATION 1968-1969 Critical O ral H istory Edited Christian by Ostermann F. and James Person F. CRISIS AND CONFRONTATION ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA 1968-1969 • A Critical Oral History Edited By Christian F. Ostermann and James F. Person History and Public Policy Program Critical Oral History Conference Series History and Public Policy Program Critical Oral History Conference Series Christian F. Ostermann / James F. Person, eds. Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula 1968-1969 A Critical Oral History Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 www.wilsoncenter.org ISBN# 1-933549-83-1 Cover image: US and North Korean military officials in negotiations over the release of the U.S.S Pueblo’s crew © 2011 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars t he Woodrow Wilson international Center for scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a living national memorial to President Wilson. The Center’s mission is to com- memorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by providing a link between the worlds of ideas and policy, while fostering research, study, dis- cussion, and collaboration among a broad spectrum of individuals concerned with policy and scholarship in national and international affairs. Supported by public and private funds, the Center is a nonpartisan institution engaged in the study of national and world affairs. It establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. The Center is the publisher of The Wilson Quarterly and home of Woodrow Wilson Center Press, dialogue radio and television, and the monthly news-letter “Centerpoint.” For more information about the Center’s activities and publica- tions, please visit us on the web at www.wilsoncenter.org. Michael Van Dusen, Acting President and Director BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chair Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chair Public Members: Melody Barnes, designated appointee from within the Federal Government Hon. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary, U.S. Department of State G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution Arne Duncan, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States James Leach, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Private Citizen Members: Timothy Broas, Charles Cobb, Jr., John Casteen, Carlos M. Gutierrez, Susan Hutchison, Barry S. Jackson, Ignacio E. Sanchez iii PARTICIPANTS iv Contents a cknowledgements 2 Preface 3 Participants 4 opening remarks 11 Panel i: Preludes to a Second Korean War: 17 The Blue House Raid and the USS Pueblo Incident Panel ii: Solidarity or Demise: North Korea’s Aggressive 39 Behavior and the U.S.-ROK Alliance Panel iii: ”We are against taking the matter towards 61 unleashing a war:” Fractures in DPRK Relations with the Communist Bloc Panel iv: Confrontation Continues: Nixon’s First Year 95 and the Korean Peninsula Panel v: Encouraging Dialogue: Peace and Reunification 125 Initiatives in the Midst of Crisis and Confrontation document appendix 149 1 1 PARTICIPANTS Acknowledgements This transcript is the first from a series of critical oral history conferences jointly hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ North Korea International Documentation Project and the University of North Korean Studies. The first conference was held on 8-9 September 2008 in Washington. NKIDP would like to thank the Korea foundation, the Ac ademy of Korean studies, ohio state university, the university of north Korean studies, and the WoodroW Wilson Center for their generous fi- nancial support for both the conference and this publication. We would also like to thank the veteran policymakers and scholars who traveled from all corners of the globe with a hefty 1,200-page collection of declassified documents in tow. We are particularly grateful to the faculty and staff of the University of North Korean Studies, including Ambassador Jounyung Sun, Prof. Kihljae Ryoo, Prof. Jongdae Shin, Kevin Shepard, Dean Oullette, and Heeseon Min for their support in organiz- ing the conference and for collecting newly declassified South Korean archival docu- ments. We would also like to thank Mitchell Lerner for sharing many U.S. docu- ments he unearthed during multiple research trips for his groundbreaking book on the U.S.S. Pueblo incident. For their efforts, the editors would also like to thank the staff of the History and Public Policy Program, including Timothy McDonnell and Kristina Terzieva. Finally, for all of their hard work in assembling the massive collec- tion of archival documents from around the world, we would like to thank NKIDP interns Erin Choi, Jinny Choi, Sean Daly, Eunice Eun, Grace Jeon, Jooeun Kim, Charles Kraus, Yong Kwon, Scott LaFoy, and Will Treece. Christian Ostermann James Person Korea Foundation THE ACADEMY OF KOREAN STUDIES 2 2 Preface Clarity is a utility one must strive for to obtain. This is especially true for a nation when it seeks to explain events of magnitude in its own history. For the two Koreas, the years 1968 and 1969 were a turbulent period marked by some of the most bra- zen military provocations by North Korea: The commando raid on the Blue House in Seoul in January 1968; the seizure of the USS Pueblo on the high seas two days later; the infiltration of special guerrilla forces in the Ulchin and Samcheok areas in November 1968; and the shooting down of the U.S. Navy EC-121 reconnaissance air- craft in April 1969. Providing clarity on these history-changing events can only assist our comprehension of the past, and help guide our decision making in the future. In 2008, the University of North Korean Studies (ROK) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (USA) held in Washington a critical oral history con- ference that focused on the above mentioned incidents, among others, that shaped the politics of late-1960s Korea. Key veteran diplomats and policy makers from Korea, the United States, and even the former East Germany were assembled to give their testimo- nies on the events and diplomacy surrounding the Korean Peninsula in the late 1960s. By reexamining these turbulent times, conference participants were able to bring us new insights and hence greater clarity of what took place. The conference also demon- strated the significant role of oral history perspectives in our examination of the past. The University of North Korean Studies in Seoul is proud to be a partner with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on this meaningful task of uncovering the reality surrounding these and other historical events in the history of the Korean Peninsula during the Cold War. The conference marked the fourth year of a quite successful and productive multi-year project, one in which we will continue to build around new agenda to help us make “history matter.” This book is one concrete outcome of what we have been able to accomplish through our strong academic collaboration, and an accomplishment we look for- ward to building on. We hope that the readers will find it a valuable resource. Park Jae-Kyu President, Kyungnam University 3 3 PARTICIPANTS Participants Ey EWITNESSES h orst Brie began his diplomatic career in 1958 when he joined the GDR foreign ministry. He was immediately sent to the People’s Republic of China to serve as a coun- selor until 1964. Brie was appointed ambassador to North Korea in 1964, charged with the task of improving economic ties between East Berlin and Pyongyang. Brie returned to East Germany in early 1968 and, after serving as head of the planning department at the foreign ministry for a few months was sent to Japan to serve as the GDR’s first ambassador to Tokyo. While in Tokyo, Brie remained deeply involved in North Korean affairs. He also served as the GDR’s ambassador to Greece. Walter Cutler is a former president of Meridian International Center. During his diplomatic career, he was twice ambassador to Saudi Arabia, ambassa- dor to Tunisia and Zaire, and was ambassador-designate to Khomeini’s Iran before diplomatic relations were broken. In addition to an earlier assignment to Iran, he served in Algeria, Cameroon, Korea as political-military advisor in the late 1960s, and in Vietnam. Ambassador Cutler was also senior deputy assistant secretary of state for congressional relations and staff assistant to the secretary of state. t homas hughes is president emeritus at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, having served as president from 1971 to 1985. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy. Dr. Hughes also served as director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) at the Department of State from 1963-1969. Kang- in deoK is a senior researcher at the Institute for Far East Studies and a visiting professor at Seigakuin University, Tosaki, Japan. In the 1960s and 1970s, 4 C RISIS AND CONFRONTATION ON THE KOREAN PENINSUlA 1968-1969 Dr. Kang served as director of the the Korean Central Intelligence Agency’s North Korea bureau and from 1998-1999 as minister of unification. He received his Ph.D. from Kyunghee University (Seoul, ROK) in political science. James f. leonard is a member of the Scientists Working Group on CBW of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
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