ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 2818 9 January 1951
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS FWD-#1-0288) 7 January 1951
| PW NAME: | KIM, Kyong Ok (金京玉) (Korean) |
| RANK: | Jr Lt (少尉) |
| AGE: | 26 |
| DUTY: | Plat Leader |
| UNIT: | NKA I Corps, Engr Bn, 3rd Co |
| EDUCATION: | Middle School - 3 yrs |
| OCCUPATION: | Laborer |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | KORANP’O (高浪浦) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 27 Dec 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | HAMGYON NAMDO, PUKCHONG-GUN, SUN TAE MYON, SUSURI, 832 |
| HOME ADDRESS: | Same as above |
| INTERROGATOR: | Cpl MIYOSHI (ATIS) |
PW was cooperative not very intelligent. Information may be considered reliable.
Chronology:
16 Mar 47: Volunteered at HAMHUNG and took basic training.
May 47: Approx 30 men and PW were transferred to NAJIN and assigned to CHONGJIN Security 4th Bn, and guarded the MAJIN RR Sta. The Hqs of CHONGJIN Security 4th Bn was located in this city.
Jul 47: Approx 7 men and PW arrived at KANGUK tunnel (also called UNGI tunnel) located between NAJIN and UNGI. Here, approx 14 men guarded the tunnel.
Aug 48: Approx 10 men arrived at YONGTAE tunnel, located approx 16 km N of TAMCH’ON guarded the tunnel.
May 49: Ten men arrived at WONGPYONG tunnel, located approx 1 km S of KILCHU and guarded the tunnel. PW was promoted to a Sgt here.
31 Mar 50: PW and two other men planned to desert the unit and escape South of 38th parallel, however, the plan was discovered by one of the other men, PW and two other men were taken to CHONGJIN RR Security Bn Hqs, and were put in confinement at the Hqs. PW was not punished, he was assigned to the Bn Hqs mess hall.
Jul 50: CHONGJIN RR Security 4th Bn Hq was transferred by rail to YANGPYONG.
Jul 50: A platoon from Security 4th Bn (RR) was transferred to CHIPYONG tunnel located approx 20 km E of YANGPYONG.
Oct 50: Platoon guarding the tunnel heard that UN forces were advancing toward them, therefore, the platoon was disorganized and all the men dispersed and retreated north.
3 Nov 50: Approx six men arrived at MANPOJIN. All the NKA men who retreated to north from various units were regrouped by a man named KIM, Mu Jung. (PW heard Mu Jung was a II Corp’s commander (rank unk). The regrouped men were again assigned to various units.
15 Nov 50: 7 men and PW was transferred to TAEKWAN and assigned to I Corps, Engr Bn, 3rd Co. Training of assembling, disassembling, burying and recovering land mines was taught to the Bn for approx 10 days. No other training was conducted due to lack of time. PW was promoted to Jr Lt.
26 Dec 50: Engr Bn of Corps arrived at KUMUN-RI.
27 Dec 50: Arrived at KORANGPO, the entire city was completely destroyed, and UN artillery were still coming over. The bridge crossing the river was destroyed, and thin layer of ice covered the river. PW and men started back to make a report when they were captured by ROK reconn patrol. PW heard the I Corps Hqs, was located approx 10 km N of SARIWON and 47th Div was located in the area of KORANPO.
Unit Organization and Strength: (Ist Corps)
3 Divs (47th, 7th, and 8th); Engr Bn; Recon Co; Comm Co; Supply Sect; and a Band Plat.
Plats directly attached to Engr Bn - Recon Plat, Sanitation Plat, Supply Plat (8 men), and Political Plat.
| Original | Present (as of 26 Dec 50) | |
| Engr Bn | 572 | ? |
| 3rd Co | 47 | 43 |
Equipment:
Engr Bn - 36 Rifles per Co, 1 PPsh M 1941 SMG in Bn, 8 TT M 1933 TOKAREV Pistols in Bn, 3 AT Tank Mines (land), 3 AP Mines, 1 ZTS-151, 12 Shovels per Co, 12 Picks per Co, 6 Axes per Co, and 1 Saw per Co.
Unit Duties:
Engr Bn -
Duties of the Engr Bn was to clear all obstacles, however, the 47th Div was always in front of the Engr Bn, therefore, no duties were performed to the date of PW’s capture.
PW received basic engineering training for 10 days at KUSONG. The training consisted of laying antitank and anti-personnel mines. Both of the mines were of Russian make. The position of laying land mines under various conditions were taught.
Sketch of land mines & barbed wire entanglements used for defense positions:
Sketch of Position of Antitank Mines:
PW was trained that ordinarily about 3 antitank mines were buried at each entrance of a by-pass as in the above case.
During movements, mines were carried by men.
PW was also taught how to detect land mines by poking the surface of the ground with a rod with a metal, however, it was impossible to poke every inch of the way, therefore, when a man stepped on the mine accidently, the other man began to search that area, a man is always sacrificed in order to discover a mine.
The above-mentioned statement and sketches were not actually used while PW was in Engr Bn, but just taught.
Communication:
Communication between Engr Bn and I Corps was by runners.
Knowledge of other units:
10th (Korean RR Security) Brig was composed of four Bns, however, PW heard 6 newly organized Bns were added to the original 4 Bns, (month of organization of new Bns was unk) and about Jul 50, PW heard the six newly organized Bns were sent across the 38th parallel. Meanwhile the 10th Brig Hqs was located at CHONKOK, 1st Bn Hq at P’YONGYANG, 2nd Bn Hqs at HAMHUNG, 3rd Bn Hqs at WONSAN and 4th Bn Hqs at CHONGJIN.
Bns - There were 4 Cos to each Bn. 4 plats to each Co. Total strength of the CHONGJIN RR Security 4th Bn was approx 614.
Personalities:
CO 3rd Co, Engr Bn, Ist Corps - CH’OE, Tae Ung, Sr Lt, age - 22. Speaks Chinese frequently. Was formerly with the 8th Route Army in MANCHURIA.
CG of 10th NK RR Security Brig - LEE, Hong Hyom, Maj Gen, age - 40 (approx). Was a instructor at a political school located at SARIWON after World War II.
CO of CHONGJIN RR Security 4th Bn, LEE, Chu Pyo, Col, age - 26.
KIM, Mu Jung - PW heard this man was the II Corps Comdr. Age - 40 ?.
Morale:
Morale of the Engr Bn, Ist Corps was low because the men in this Bn did not have any technical knowledge of engineering. The foot was insufficient. PW stated the food supplies were confiscated from the village as they enter.
Info on MANPOJIN and MUJUNG Hq:
After arriving at MANPOJIN, PW was directed to MUJUNG Hq by a NK soldier. MUJUNG Hq was located approx NE of the MANPOJIN RR Sta, and YALU River was flowing approx 500 m N of MUJUNG Hq. The entire Hq building was surrounded by guards.
Upon arriving at the Hq PW was sent to a wooden school building 15 m x 50 m, galvanized iron roof, painted dark grey located approx 300 m SE of MUJUN Hq. There were over 1,000 men, all comprised of men who retreated from south, men were asked what unit they were formerly, in, and if they were ordered to retreat of retreated voluntarily. After three days PW was transferred to TAEKWAN.
Psychological Warfare:
PW did not surrender.
Did you see any UN leaflets or hear any broadcasts?
Answer: I observed a leaflet at PYONGGANG o/a 5 Oct 50, while retreating toward north.
What did the leaflet look like or what did the broadcast say?
Answer: The leaflet was white with blue UN symbol on one side. Leaflet read, “give up and come out to the road with your hands up. We will not kill you, will treat you fairly. After the war we will send you home.”
What was the effect on you?
Answer: I was confused because I heard rumors among men and officers that we will be killed if we were captured by UN Forces. If I had only known the characteristics of the UN Forces I would have surrendered long ago, and I believe other NK soldiers would have also, however I did not know the characteristics of UN Forces so I drifted with the other men in the retreat north.
Did you hear any talk about leaflets or broadcasts? If so, what was said and what happened?
Answer: PW heard others talking about the leaflets and they were wondering if the statement on the leaflets were true, however, no action was taken.
For the Commanding Officer:
BATEMAN
