ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 961 11 September 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 0712) 31 September 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | KIM Chong Han (金正焕) |
| RANK: | Sgt |
| AGE: | 22 |
| DUTY: | Sqd ldr |
| UNIT: | 7th Div, 3rd Regt, 3rd Bn, 3rd Co, 1st Plt, 3rd Sqd |
| EDUCATION: | Primary School (6 yrs) |
| OCCUPATION: | Farmer |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 28 Aug 50 |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | PW voluntarily surrendered to the ROK Unit at PUGONG-NI |
| HOME ADDRESS: | HAMGYONG PUKTO, CHONGJIN SI, POHANG-NI |
| INTERROGATOR: | KOGA Tetsuo (FEAF) |
Cooperative but limited information.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Movements:
Departed YONCH'ON 27 Jun 50 - marched - arrived UIJONGBU 29 Jun 50
Departed UIJONGBU 30 Jun 50 - marched - arrived KAESONG 5 Jul 50
Departed KAESONG 8 Jul 50 - train - arrived SUWON 9 Jul 50
From each regt approx 50% of the seasoned troops were sent to the front line as replacements. Men from occupied area ware drafted to bring division to full strength.
Departed SUWON 15 Jul 50 - train - arrived CH’ONAN 15 Jul 50
Departed CH’ONAN 15 Jul 50 - marched - arrived KONGJU 17 Jul 50
Departed KONGJU 17 Jul 50 - marched - arrived CHONJU 23 Jul 50
Departed CHONJU 26 Jul 50 - marched - arrived KWANGJU 30 Jul 50
Departed KWANGJU 30 Jul 50 - marched - arrived SUNCH'ON 5 Aug 50
F-80’s strike destroyed 3 trucks and 2 jeeps.
Departed SUNCH'ON 9 Aug 50 - marched - arrived CHINJU 15 Aug 50
Departed CHINJU 23 Aug 50 - marched - arrived CHUNGAM-NI 24 Aug 50
Departed CHUNGAM-NI 24 Aug 50 - marched arrived PUGONG-NI 25 Aug 50
Present location of PW's Unit & other units:
The 7th Div Hqs and the 2nd Regt Hqs were located at PUGONGNI, the 1st Regt was located to the north of Div Hqs and the 3rd Regt was located to the south and along the mountain range.
The 1st Div was located south of the 7th Div.
Personalities:
7th Div, Unit No 250, APO 1860: CH’OE Un Gil, Maj Gen (최문길)
3rd Regt, Unit No 51, APO 786: CH’OE Un Baek (최산백), Col.
3rd Bns TONG Si Han (문지한), Maj
3rd Co: SO In Sop (서인섭), Capt
1st Plt: CHU Yong Gun (수종한), Lt, 4 yrs service in the NKPA.
Capability of Unit:
PW’s own unit - efficiency: Approx 50% of the men in the 7th Div have less than 6 months of military service.
Morale: Morale of the troops was low. Majority of the men in the 7th Div was conscripted against their will.
Supplies:
Resupply route was by train from P'YONGYANG and KAESONG to CHONAN, then south by truck and ox-carts at night. Civilians were hired to smuggle ammunition to the troops. Rice and other foodstuffs were confiscated from occupied areas. At PUGONG-NI men of the 3rd Regt were issued 200 rounds of ammunition beside their original 71 rounds.
Mission:
Prisoner heard the 7th Div mission was to support the northern flank of the 1st Div and capture PUSAN by the 30 Aug 50.
Armor:
4 x T-34/85 tanks were observed a CHINJU in good condition 23 Aug 50.
Foreign Elements:
None observed.
Artillery:
No information.
Antiaircraft
AA installation were heard to be located in the vicinity of the HAN River stool bridge.
Condition of Terrain Behind his Line:
Roads for vehicle traffic in bad condition. RR were in good condition and operable from P'YONGYANG to CH'ONAN. The steel bridge that spans the HAN River has been repaired. All other bridges were repaired during the night by forced labor in the immediate locality of the destroyed bridges.
Leaflets:
Prisoners picked up a leaflet dropped by UN aircraft at CHONGJU. It read “Any prisoner who surrenders will be treated according to the Geneva Convention”. Prisoner stated that troops with education believed they would be treated humanly but those uneducated and those that were leftist would not believe any propaganda leaflets dropped by UN forces.
Espionage:
Prisoner heard NK Army was using spies in S KOREA prior to 25 Jun 50. Also hoard high school girls were taught to get military and civil information, At the present tine women soldiers and people of leftist organization and also sympathizers were used to collect information.
Supply:
In Jan 50-Feb 50 prisoner observed several Soviet ships unloading artillery and ammo and trucks at CH’ONGJIN (1256-2150). This equipment was transported to P’YONGYANG by train. He heard other Soviet equipment was unloaded at CH'ONGJIN and distributed to various military districts in North KOREA.
Naval Installations:
Prisoner heard that CH’ONGJIN Harbour was used as NK Navy Base.
4. GENERAL:Miscellaneous:
1. What weapons were they most afraid of?
Aircraft strafing and bombing.
2. What do you know about American PsW?
Prisoner observed 10 American PsW passing on a truck at CHINJU. Their hands were not tied, they were their fatigue uniforms. No head gear. They were guarded by 6 NKPA guards armed with PPsh type sub-machine guns. Prisoner heard there were approx 500 American PsW interned at SEOUL. American soldiers killed in action were not given a decent burial. Their bodies were left alone, while the NK buried their dead as heroes of the peoples army with markers. ROK dead were also not buried. The bodies of American and ROK dead were buried by the local people, because they were compelled to do so. Prisoner heard in some localities the bodies of Americans and Rote soldiers were buried in separate graves, while in other places they were buried together in one large grave.
For the Commanding Officer
WEELDREYER
Executive
