President Clinton's administration refused to intercept it while it was off the South Korean coast.
Any source on this?
Doesn't seem to matter which party is in power, the NKs seem to face them all down. Nixon was in power in Apr 69 when a NK jet ambushed an EC-121 aircraft from Atsugi, and all 31 aboard were murdered. Our response? Tut-tut, you meanies. The NKs ambushed and killed our soldiers all along the DMZ in the 1960s, and we harumphed. Our firmest response was to the DMZ ax murders in 1976 (Ford the boss).
Glad to see so many others of the same mind: sink the Pueblo, give her an honorable end. Missed a chance more than once, in her transit from Wonsan to Nampo and back.