On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence vessel,
was  engaged in a routine surveillance of the North Korean coast
when it is intercepted by North Korean patrol boats. According to
U.S. reports, the Pueblo was in international waters almost 16
miles from shore, but the North Koreans turned their guns on
the lightly armed vessel and demanded its surrender.

The Pueblo was boarded and taken to Wonson. There, the 83-man
crew was bound and blindfolded and transported to Pyongyang,
where they were charged with spying within North Korea’s 12-
mile territorial limit and imprisoned. It was the biggest crisis in
two years of increased tension and minor skirmishes between
the United States and North Korea.

The crew of USS Pueblo at a press conference in North
Korea in 1968. (Korea News Service via AP Images)