The US Navy’s Pueblo, captured by North Korea in 1968, became a museum. A guide from the People’s Liberation Army in 2017 is walking into the boat. [AFP=연합뉴스]
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The U.S. federal court ruled to compensate North Korea for $2.3 billion (about 2.58 trillion won) in connection with the detention of the U.S. naval ship Pueblo in 1968, AP and AFP news agencies reported on the 25th (local time). The Voice of the United States (VOA) reported that the ruling was the largest amount of compensation ordered by the US court against North Korea.
U.S. federal court to 171 victims of Pueblo detention
$2.3 billion in restitution order… “The maximum amount of compensation imposed on North Korea”
Terrorist countries are exempt from sovereignty… Filed in 50 years
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According to the judgment released by the court on the 24th, the compensation targets 171 people, including the crew and survivors of the Pueblo. They each received compensation for damages from detention, alimony from mental suffering, and economic damage from failure to live a normal life after returning home.
The judiciary admitted as compensation for the 60 surviving or deceased crew members from as little as 3.55 million dollars (about 3.9 billion won) to as much as 23.85 million dollars (about 26.7 billion won) per person. In addition, the crew’s family and others set a price of 1.25 million to 5 million dollars (about 1.4 billion to 5.6 billion won) for 111 people.
The total amount of compensation calculated in this way is 1.15 billion dollars, and the court doubled the amount by applying punitive damage compensation. In a statement, the plaintiff’s lawyers said in a statement, “The highest amount among the US court’s orders to compensate the terrorist supporters.”
In the opinion, the judge explained that the damages for the 335 days of the crew’s detention in North Korea were set at $3,35 million per person per day, 10,000 dollars a day. Alimony for mental damage suffered over the past 50 years ranged from $200,000 (about 244 million won) to $20 million (about 22.4 billion won) per person.
“As a result of the atrocities committed by North Koreans, almost everyone needed medical or psychiatric intervention,” said Alan Balaran, an expert in the damage calculation. “Surgery to treat physical damage caused by relentless torture in captivity. There were also many people who received treatment,” he said.
They rely on alcohol and drugs to forget the pain, which has ruined their home and work life, and some even attempted suicide.
The Pueblo, an intelligence-gathering ship belonging to the US Navy, was captured by North Korea on January 23, 1968, carrying 83 crew members while conducting business on the East Sea. North Korea claimed to have invaded territorial waters, but the United States denied it.
Until negotiations between the two governments were concluded, the crew members were imprisoned for 11 months and subjected to torture and cruelty. The crew and family filed a class action lawsuit against North Korea in a U.S. court in February 2018, 50 years after the incident.
In general, foreign governments are not sued in U.S. courts because of their sovereign immunity, but the U.S. Congress introduced a new rule in 2016 that made exceptions to countries that support terrorism.
North Korea was designated as a terrorist support country in 1988, but was lifted in 2008. In November 2017, during the days of the Donald Trump administration, North Korea was redesignated as a terrorist support country, opening up a way to file a lawsuit against North Korea.
In October 2019, the federal court ruled in effect winning the plaintiff, saying, “North Korea is responsible for the plaintiff’s claim.” After that, an expert designated by the US government calculated the damages of each plaintiff and determined the amount of compensation, and this time the final judgment came out.
Seung Jo-won’s daughter Catherine Soto, who passed away in November last year, said through a lawyer, “Our family suffered too much from my father’s detention. It would have been nice if I could tell that my father was alive and that justice was now realized.”
Although the court has settled a large amount of compensation, there is no way for the plaintiffs to get relief from the damage right away. There is also a way to claim compensation by claiming ownership of North Korean assets in the US and abroad, but it is not easy to find the assets in reality.
Washington = Correspondent Park Hyun-young [email protected] 
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