Video: 'USS Pueblo Crew Released by North Koreans'

(Monday, December 23, 1968, 11:30 a.m. Korean Standard Time; during the Cold War) — North Korea today released the 82 members of the U.S. Navy ship USS Pueblo after 11 months of captivity that had started when American ship was seized by North Korean ships on Jan. 23, 1968.

The handover of the men, along with the body of Seaman Duane D. Hodges (who had been killed when the Pueblo had been fired upon, took place at the border at Panmunjom after U.S. Army Major General Gilbert H. Woodward signed a statement of apology on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

The freed crewmen were flown to Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego on Christmas Eve for a reunion with their families.

The Pueblo itself was kept by the North Koreans and would later be put on display as a tourist attraction in Pyongyang.

Video: '50 Years After North Korea Captured The USS Pueblo, The Ship Is Still On Display | NBC Nightly News'