PUEBLO SITREP NO. 30

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00928322
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2021
• Case Number: F-2018-00781
• Publication Date: February 3, 1968

Approved for Release: 2021/03/25 C00928322
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SC No, 01922/68
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
3 February 1968
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Pueblo Sitrep No. 30
(As of 5:00 P.M. EST)
1. Pyongyang radio has broadcast an 18-minute
statement by a Frederick Carl Schumacher, who is
described as the "operations officer" of the, USS
Pueblo. No further details are available at this
time.
2. South Korean President Pak Chong-hui and
one of his chief aides separately raised with the
US Ambassador in Seoul the possibility that the ROK
go into small-arms production to help counter in-
creased North Korean infiltration.
3. President Pak told the Ambassador that he
would like to see the ROK produce "M-2 .type" carbines
He said it was clear that the government could not
depend only on the army and police but must also
train 2.5 million veteranS, perhaps along the lines
of Israeli and Swiss militia. Pak said Korean pri-
vate interests--acting on the government's behalf--
will get the program under way by purchasing 10,000
M-2 "type" weapons and 2 million rounds of ammunition
from US firms and will seek their help in establishing
a factory.
4. Yi Hu-rak, Pak's secretary-general, pointed
out that the ROK should produce its own modern small
arms to match the "major psychological'.advantage"
North Korea enjoys from its own small-weapons produc-
tion. He said 500,000 "AR-18" weapons cduld be pro-
duced at a cost of $3.5 million, with each weapon
costing about $48.
NQ Foreign Dicc m/Back
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5. The Panmunjom talks evoked varied public
comments today from South Korean officials. The
foreign minister said the ROK "is not opposed to the
UN Command's decision to conduct talks at Panmunjom"
but warned that "the talks must not be utilized by
the North Korean puppets for propaganda." A presi-
dential spokesman noted that ROK and US officials
"have had close contacts in connection with the talks"
and the ROK "is watching the talks with keen interest."
The chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Rela-
tions Committee, however, scored the US for conducting
"secret talks" without South Korean participation,
and charged that this was the first such occurrence
in the Military Armistice Commission's 15-year history.
6. One more of the 31 North Korean guerrillas
who tried to assassinate President Pak in Seoul on
21 January was shot dead today in a small town not
far from the South Korean capital. ROK officials
claim three of the guerrillas are still at large.
Of the others, one was captured near the scene of
the abortive attack and the rest are believed to
have been killed.
7. Radio Pyongyang's domestic service and the
South Korea beam today gave priority to reports re-
lating to the Pueblo and the persecution of South
Korean "revolutionaries," and placed less emphasis
on the South Vietnam situation. Pyongyang highlighted
the "confession" of Pueblo officer Lt. Stephen R.
Harris (see Sitrep No. 29) but also covered pro-Com-
munist "world" reaction to the case.
8. The (North) Korean Central News Agency today
transmitted a photo allegedly showing the "spy" con-
fession of Lt. Stephen Robert Harris, the Pueblo's
"first officer." The word "confession" appears at
the top of the first of ten fanned-out pages and
Harris' signature on the last. Only the first page
is readable in its entirety and follows word for
word the "tonfession" broadcast yesterday by Radio
Pyongyang.
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9. The high-level Rumanian delegation that has
been holding talks with North Korean officials since
30 January plans to leave Pyongyang at 3 A.M. EST
tomorrow. Pyongyang radio reports the talks have
"proceeded in a friendly and comradely atmosphere."
11, Several brief firefights were reported
in the US sector of the DMZ during the evening of
2-3 February. No casualties on either side were
reported. One North Korean was reported killed by
the ROK police a short distance south of the DMZ.
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