Dai Hong Dan Incident
In this article, Garrison Gove will inform readers about a rare moment of cooperation between two of the world's most bitter enemies.
Dai Hong Dan Incident
By Garrison Gove
The United States and North Korea: two of the most bitter enemies in the world. The animosity between the two countries originates from the Korean War, when the United States thwarted North Korea’s attempt to control the entire Korean peninsula, and when many North Korean cities were reduced to rubble by American bombing runs. Through extensive propaganda campaigns, North Korea has demonized the United States, as the ultimate threat to its social system, and maintains that U.S. military presence in South Korea is an imperialist occupation. With very rare exceptions, travel to North Korea is a violation of U.S. federal law and can result in a revoked passport and felony prosecution for misuse of a passport, according to the U.S. State Department. However, as the old clichè goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. In a surprising case of cooperation, the United States came to the aid of a beleaguered North Korean freighter off the coast of Somolia.
On Oct. 29, 2007, the North Korean freighter Dai Hong Dan had finished unloading its cargo in Mogadishu, Somalia when seven pirates disguised as guards boarded the ship, detained the 22 crewmembers, and forced it to sea. The pirates demanded a ransom of USD$15,000. Responding to the ship’s distress signal, the American guided missile destroyer USS James E Williams dispatched a helicopter to secure the scene. At that point, the North Korean sailors stormed the bridge, engaging the pirates in a firefight. When the smoke cleared, two pirates were dead, and the rest were captured. Six North Korean sailors were wounded. After gaining permission to come aboard, American medics provided treatment to three North Koreans who required immediate medical attention.
In response to the incident, the North Korean government issued rare pro-U.S. statements, according to Reuters. The Korean Central News Agency referred to the incident as a “symbol of cooperation” between the two countries “in the struggle against terrorism.” “We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewman,” the news organization elaborated. The incident proved a stark contrast to the last maritime encounter between the two nations, when the spy ship USS Pueblo was seized by North Korea in 1968. Nevertheless, the Dai Hong Dan incident offers a faint glimmer of hope for reconciliation between the two countries.
While peaceful relations between the two countries might seem far-fetched due to the length of the conflict between the two, history has proven that long-time rivals can reconcile. England and France, despite fighting a war that lasted for 116 years, are close allies today. Greece and Turkey, despite having a rivalry that dates all the way back to the Trojan War, provide each other with humanitarian aid for natural disasters such as earthquakes. The United States, despite exposing Japan to the true potential of nuclear warfare, is today one of Japan's closest allies. While it is unlikely that the United States and North Korea will ever become close allies, incidents like this have proven that cooperation between the two is not out of the question.
