Despite calls to immediately launch a military operation, President Lyndon Johnson relied on diplomatic levers. “We shall continue to use every means available to find a prompt and a peaceful solution to the problem,” he said in a TV address several days after the incident. US Ambassador to the USSR asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR to facilitate the release of the crew and return of the vessel.

The American media was creating tension. The New York Times wrote that the incident was humiliating for the US. It came to light that in case it was uncovered, the Pueblo was supposed to receive air support, but it didn’t get any despite numerous calls for help.

Meanwhile, the crewmen were held in cold cells and regularly beaten. Captain Lloyd Bucher had it harder than the others. His confession of spying was the most valuable, but the Koreans were able to obtain them only by threatening to kill the youngest crew members.