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보/고/서

ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 1863　13 October 1950

FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 1110)　11 October 1950

PW was very cooperative and repeatedly expressed his resentment against Communism. He surrendered to the villagers near ANSONG. Not recommended for further interrogation.

1 Aug 50 - PW was inducted at HAEJU (海州) and received a month of basic infantry training at HWANGJU.

1 Sep 50 - A group of 500 men departed HWANGJU (廣州) on foot. PW commissioned Jr. Lt. (少尉) on the day of his departure.

10 Sep 50 - Group arrived in SEOUL. PW was attached to the 109th Security Regt, 40th Bn, 3rd Co, 3rd Plt, as a Plt Ldr.

11 Sep 50 - The Regt departed SEOUL on a troop train.

13 Sep 50 - Arrived in TAEJON (大田).

18 Sep 50 - 19 officers, 40 NGOs, and 40 pvts (from the SK volunteer Corps) were ordered to proceed north.

22 Sep 50 - At a point 2 km south of CH'ONGJU, the group became disorganized when they heard that NKA was in general retreat towards the 38th parallel. PW together with 9 men from NK headed for KAESONG (開城) via SEOUL (서울).

26 Sep 50 - At a point 8 km North of ANSONG (安城), the group of 10 men came across a small village which displayed a ROK flag. They realized the futility of proceeding further north, so they surrendered to the villagers.

The 109th Security Regt was composed of 37th, 38th, 39th, and 40th Bns. The 40th Bn was composed of four rifle companies recon plt, AT gun plt, supply plt, and 1 transportation plt.

All rifle companies were composed of three platoons each. The 109th Security Regt was organizing at TAEJON and as 18 Sep 50, the 3rd Co, 40th Bn, was composed of 9 officers and 20 NCOs. The 40th Bn was composed of 19 officers, 40 NCOs, 40 enlisted men from NKA, and 40 conscripts from the SK Volunteer Corps. The total strength of the 109th Security Regt was 1500 men (as of 18 Sep 50).

The troops of the 109th Security Regt did not possess any equipment. They were told that weapons would be forwarded to them after the units were fully organized at their respective stations. As of 22 Sep 50, the finance officer of the 40th Bn had 800,000 NK won.

The 109th Security Regt was activated in SEOUL 13 Sep 50.

The 109th Security Regt Hdq was located in TAEJON (00 Sep 50) and the PW heard that the 37th Bn was sent to KUMSAN, 38th Bn to NONSAN (論山), 39th Bn to KUMCH'ON (金泉), and the to CH’ONGJU (淸州).

The 40th Bn was completely disorganized immediately south of CH'ONGJU and the PW believes that the men became scattered and intended to proceed to NK in small groups. Further details unknown.

The morale of the troops was very low because they were conscripted under duress into the Army. Majority of the officers were students drafted into the Army from high schools and colleges and did not possess any will to fight.

Food rationing was not effective for all civilians. The only people who received food through the ration system in NK were laborers and clerks who worked for the government. The amount of the ration was unknown, but the price of rice purchased under the ration system was 30 won per 18 litre in comparison to the blackmarket price of 500 won (as of 30 Jul 50). The people who qualified under the ration system were classified as follows:

Class 1 - Communist Party Members.

Class 2 - Technicians and heads of various schools.

Class 3 - Workers of government plants and teachers.

Class 4 - Students enrolled in schools located in cities.

Class 5 - Old people.

Under the rationing system, only qualified people were able to purchase clothing at official price, but PW states it was not difficult to purchase proper clothing for a blackmarket price. Large quantities of inferior grade clothing material were imported from USSR and were available on the market at exorbitant prices.

Five wooden school buildings in HWANGJU (黃州) were used by the NKA as barracks and approximately 500 recruits were trained here every month. The basic infantry training was held on a heavily wooded area 2 to 3 km northeast of HWANGJU to avoid attacks from US aircraft. The recruits were trained in the fundamentals of a LMG, HMG, 45-mm AT Gun, and AT rifle but they never fired them. They were given only 3 rounds of rifle ammunition to fire.

For the Commanding Officer: