page_title: United States Forces Korea
section_title: 1960s
hierarchical_section_title: United States Forces Korea / History / 1960s
caption_attribution_description: Charles Robert Jenkins
context_page_description: United States Forces Korea is a sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command. USFK is the joint headquarters through which U.S. combat forces would be sent to the fighting components under the South Korea/US Combined Forces Command – the combined ground, air, naval, marine and special operations forces component commands. Major USFK elements include Eighth U.S. Army, U.S. Air Forces Korea, U.S. Naval Forces in Korea, U.S. Marine Forces Korea and Special Operations Command Korea. It was established on July 1, 1957.
  Its mission is to support the United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command by coordinating and planning among U.S. component commands, and exercise operational control of U.S. forces as directed by United States Indo-Pacific Command.
  USFK has Title 10 authority, which means that USFK is responsible for organizing, training and equipping U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula so that forces are agile, adaptable and ready.
  With 28,500 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in South Korea, U.S. forces in South Korea are a major presence in the region and a key manifestation of the U.S. government's aim to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific.
context_section_description: May 1962: Pvt. Larry Allen Abshier abandoned his post in South Korea in May 1962 when he crept away from his base and crossed the DMZ into North Korea. Abshier was the first to defect. Also in May 1962, Cpl. Jerry Parrish crossed the DMZ into North Korea. His reasons for defecting, according to Jenkins' autobiography The Reluctant Communist, were "personal, and [Parrish] didn't elaborate about them much except to say that if he ever went home, his father-in-law would kill him."
  Aug 1962: James Joseph Dresnok was a Pfc. with a U.S. Army unit along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Soon after his arrival he found himself facing a court martial for forging signatures on paperwork that gave him permission to leave base and which, ultimately, led to his being AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). Unwilling to face punishment, on 15 August 1962, while his fellow soldiers were eating lunch, he ran across a minefield in broad daylight into North Korean territory, where he was quickly apprehended by North Korean soldiers. Dresnok was taken by train to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and interrogated.
  1964: North Korea creates an underground group: Revolution Party for Reunification. This group is ground down and eliminated by South Korean authorities by 1969
  Jan 1965: Charles Jenkins, the most notable case, defected to North Korea. In South Korea he was assigned to night patrols. As a result of fears that he would be transferred to combat duty in Vietnam, he grew depressed and anxious, and started drinking alcohol. On the night of 4 January 1965, after reportedly drinking ten beers, he set off on his nightly patrol of the Demilitarized Zone. In the early morning he told his patrol that he was going to investigate a noise. He subsequently crossed into North Korea and surrendered to forces there, in hopes of being sent to Russia and then, through prisoner exchange, eventually returned to America. Shortly thereafter North Korean propaganda declared that a U.S. sergeant had defected, and broadcast statements allegedly made by the defector, reportedly in stilted English. The U.S. Army claimed Jenkins wrote four letters stating his intention to defect (an allegation Jenkins denies); however, the original letters are reportedly lost. His relatives maintained throughout his absence that he was abducted.
  27 April 1965: Two North Korean MiG-17s attack a United States EC-121 Warning Star reconnaissance plane in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula, 80 km (50 mi) from the North Korean shore. The aircraft was damaged, but managed to land at Yokota Air Base, Japan.
  17 January 1968: In an incident known as the Blue House Raid, a 31-man detachment from the Korean People's Army secretly crossed the DMZ on a mission to kill South Korean President Park Chung-hee on 21 January, nearly succeeding. The incursion was discovered after South Korean civilians confronted the North Koreans and informed South Korean authorities. After entering Seoul disguised as South Korean soldiers, the North Koreans attempt to enter the Blue House (the official residence of the President of South Korea). They are confronted by South Korean police and a firefight ensued. The North Koreans fled Seoul and individually attempted to cross the DMZ back to North Korea. Of the original group of 31 North Koreans, 28 were killed, one was captured and two are unaccounted for. Additionally, 68 South Koreans were killed and 66 were wounded, the majority of whom were soldiers and police officers. Three American soldiers were also killed and three were wounded.
  23 January 1968: The United States Naval ship the USS Pueblo is boarded and captured, along with its crew, by North Korean forces in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula. The entire crew of 83 is captured, with the exception of one sailor killed in the initial attack on the vessel, and the vessel was taken to a North Korean port. All the captives were released on 23 December of the same year via the Bridge of No Return at the DMZ. The USS Pueblo is still in North Korean possession and is docked in Pyongyang and is on disp
caption: Sgt. Charles Jenkins in 2007.
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