The USS Pueblo is the only ship of the U.S. Navy that is being held captive by a foreign government.

North Korean Capture
The USS Pueblo is an American technical research ship. It was boarded and captured by North Korea on January 23, 1968 at the height of the Vietnam Conflict. Known by military historians as the "Pueblo Affair," the capture of the U.S. Navy ship is considered to be a major event in the Cold War.

As of 2011, the USS Pueblo was still being held captive by North Korea. The Government of North Korea has the ship moored along the Taedong River near the capital city of Pyongyang where it is open to citizens as a "museum ship." Despite the fact that the USS Pueblo has been held captive by North Korea for more than 40 years, it is still officially known as a "commissioned vessel" of the U.S. Navy.

Prisoners of War
North Korean soldiers boarded the USS Pueblo after it claimed the American ship strayed into its territorial waters. The U.S. Navy has always maintained that the vessel was in international waters when the North Koreans boarded it.After being captured, the USS Pueblo was taken into the Port of Wonsan and the American seamen onboard were placed in Prisoner of War (POW) camps.The Americans were moved to several different POW camps over the course of 11 months. The U.S. soldiers claim they were tortured and subjected to mock firing squads by the North Koreans while in captivity.

The U.S. soldiers were released from North Korean custody on December 23, 1968. In all, 82 Americans from the USS Pueblo were freed. However, the ship itself has remained in North Korea since it was first captured and the U.S. military has made no attempts to reclaim the vessel. Prior to being captured by North Korea, the USS Pueblo had served a variety of roles with the U.S. Navy since it was first commissioned in 1944, including as a light cargo ship.