Captured US spy ship main draw at renovated war museum
Source: AFP |
July 28, 2013, Sunday
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NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-Un yesterday unveiled a renovated Korean War museum with a United States-baiting centerpiece in the form of the spy ship USS Pueblo, captured in 1968.
Kim, wearing his trademark black Mao suit, cut the red ribbon on the monumental Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum after inspecting an honor guard in front of thousands of war veterans and invited foreign guests.
Entering the museum's main doors, the first sight greeting visitors is a 4-meter high colored statue of what looks remarkably like Kim, but turns out to be a youthful representation of his grandfather and the nation's founder Kim Il-Sung.
Much of the museum collection is a paean to Kim Il-Sung's strategic battlefield brilliance - credited with bettering the might of the US military in the Korean War.
Giant statues aside, the main draw of the museum is the USS Pueblo, berthed on the river bank next to the main museum building.
The Pueblo was attacked and seized by North Korea's navy on January 23, 1968. One American sailor was killed in the assault and 82 others were captured and held prisoner for 11 months before they were freed.
US Naval authorities and the crew of the Pueblo insisted that before the capture, the Pueblo was miles outside North Korean territorial waters.
The ship is still listed as a commissioned US naval vessel and a US Senate resolution in 2008 declared the Pueblo was the first US Navy ship to be "hijacked" by a foreign military in more than 150 years.
For North Korea it remains a prized Cold War trophy and proud evidence of its ability to secure victories over its great "US imperialist" foe.
Inside the ship, which has also been renovated, pride of place is given to handwritten confessions signed by some of the ship's officers.
The opening of the refurbished museum was one of a series of "Victory Day" events held in Pyongyang throughout the week.
"This museum is a shrine of victory that will let the whole world know of the heroic fighting spirit and brilliant exploits of our army that defeated the US imperialists for the first time in history," Kim Jong-Un's top military aide Choe Ryong-Hae said in a speech.
The opening ceremony ended in the evening with an extravagant 20-minute firework display.
Kim, wearing his trademark black Mao suit, cut the red ribbon on the monumental Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum after inspecting an honor guard in front of thousands of war veterans and invited foreign guests.
Entering the museum's main doors, the first sight greeting visitors is a 4-meter high colored statue of what looks remarkably like Kim, but turns out to be a youthful representation of his grandfather and the nation's founder Kim Il-Sung.
Much of the museum collection is a paean to Kim Il-Sung's strategic battlefield brilliance - credited with bettering the might of the US military in the Korean War.
Giant statues aside, the main draw of the museum is the USS Pueblo, berthed on the river bank next to the main museum building.
The Pueblo was attacked and seized by North Korea's navy on January 23, 1968. One American sailor was killed in the assault and 82 others were captured and held prisoner for 11 months before they were freed.
US Naval authorities and the crew of the Pueblo insisted that before the capture, the Pueblo was miles outside North Korean territorial waters.
The ship is still listed as a commissioned US naval vessel and a US Senate resolution in 2008 declared the Pueblo was the first US Navy ship to be "hijacked" by a foreign military in more than 150 years.
For North Korea it remains a prized Cold War trophy and proud evidence of its ability to secure victories over its great "US imperialist" foe.
Inside the ship, which has also been renovated, pride of place is given to handwritten confessions signed by some of the ship's officers.
The opening of the refurbished museum was one of a series of "Victory Day" events held in Pyongyang throughout the week.
"This museum is a shrine of victory that will let the whole world know of the heroic fighting spirit and brilliant exploits of our army that defeated the US imperialists for the first time in history," Kim Jong-Un's top military aide Choe Ryong-Hae said in a speech.
The opening ceremony ended in the evening with an extravagant 20-minute firework display.
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