Documents / FOIA release

Intelligence and Security Operations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense

Central Intelligence Agency · 1979-12-01 · 120 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is a December 1979 Central Intelligence Agency study published by the Directorate of Operations Counterintelligence Staff. It describes the Enemy Proselytizing Department (Cuc Dich Van) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. The study traces the department's origins from 1941 through the French and Vietnam wars. It covers psychological warfare, fifth column penetration of ARVN and allied forces, the handling of US and allied prisoners of war, and the postwar reeducation of former ARVN personnel. It contains no material on UFOs.

  • p. 13 …South Vietnam maintained contact with the CBV headquarters in Hanoi through radio communications, couriers flown on…
  • p. 14 …All power rested in the Lao Dong Party's forward COSVN headquarters with PAVN in full…
  • p. 18 …Interrogation results were sent to the provincial unit and / or military region headquarters for followup exploitation…
  • p. 25 …similarly studied and sent to the CDV headquarters in Hanoi for incorporation into POW indoctrination, and…
  • p. 26 …South Vietnam in spring 1965, the CDV headquarters in Hanoi instructed its forward commands in South…
  • p. 27 …operational control of PAVN Military Region 4 headquartered in Vinh, Nghe An Province. Consequently, the CDV…
  • p. 28 …The PDV headquarters was composed of 75 personnel assigned to six major sections. About 200 personnel…
  • p. 29 …The handwritten statements were also sent to the CDV headquarters in Hanoi where they ‘were used…
  • p. 30 …Established in May 1969 with la 25-man headquarters staff, it had three 25-man detention…
  • p. 34 …In spring 1968, the Region 5 EMPS requested the CDV headquarters inHanoi to provide it with…
  • p. 35 …It was unaware of the fact that the Region 5 EMPS headquarters now had three Korean…
  • p. 36 …beenasked to leave by the Region 5 headquarters which had discovered them. performing other than agreed…
  • p. 40 …These advisory groups were assigned to the Supreme LPLA Headquarters, and to the three LPLA military…
  • p. 41 …Most were prepared by the SLMR Enemy Military Proselytizing Section headquarters, although subordinate provincial political staff…
  • p. 43 …personnel, who were organized into a small headquarters staff, at least one 30-man detention camp…
  • p. 48 …Other penetrations included a translator with a liaison group attached to the headquarters of the US…
  • p. 53 …RVN National Police Command Regional Headquarters in Can Tho; the Lo Te Prison; US advisory and…
  • p. 54 …4 MPS had over 200 personnel under its control organized into a 50-man headquarters staff…
  • p. 55 …40 personnel organized into a five- man headquarters staff and four courier stations. 8. B9 Printing…
  • p. 56 …Directly subordinate to its headquarters staff were two 40-man courier stations which were each organized…
  • p. 57 …The Region 2 MPS headquarters staff was organized into a: 1. 2. I 3. Administrative Subsection…
  • p. 60 …Among those arrested were penetrations of the ARVN I Corps MSS Headquarters; the personal chauffeur of…
  • p. 61 …provincial EMPS, organized into a 42-man headquarters staff with seven subordinate subsections as follows: , F…
  • p. 63 …These staff components monitored and provided professional guidance to the 40-man headquarters staffs of the…
  • p. 71 …Tan Son Nhut) Air Divisions, the VNAF Headquarters, Aircraft Control and Warning Group, Air Logistics Command…
  • p. 80 …Born about 1925 in North Vietnam, Ban held the rank of major in the CDV headquarters…
  • p. 85 …Between 1961 and February 1967, he was assigned to the COSVN MPS Penetration Subsection headquarters where…
  • p. 88 …the rank of captain to the SVNLA headquarters, where he was assigned to the Enemy Proselytizing…
  • p. 89 …85 ‘SE-GR-EL the CDV headquarters in Hanoi, he was sent to South Vietnam in…
  • p. 90 …Between April and June 1968, he was assigned to a SVNLA Forward Headquarters in Subregion 1…
  • p. 94 _seea-er- to an unspecified position in the CDV headquarters. Holding the rank of major, he…
  • p. 96 …In April 1951, he was reassigned to the MND headquarters before becoming the head of the…
  • p. 102 …It is North Vietnam's main pen- itentiary and the administrative headquarters for its entire prison…
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Based on the psychological assessment, CDV officers drafted anindoctrination and exploitation plan based on the degree of the POW'scooperation. The CDV recommended what treatment and what interrogationtechniques would be used in exploiting the POW. The'CDV indoctrinationand exploitation plan included an evaluation of the POW's character; familybackground, strong and weak personality characteristics; his attitude before,during and after capture; and how the prisoner should be approached infuture indoctrination and detailed interrogation sessions. Indoctrination planswere approved by the CDV Policy Office and then by CDV Director MajorGeneral Le Quang Dao, a Lao Dong Party Central Committee member and adeputy director of the MND General Political Department.
The exploitation of the POW depended upon’ the category to which hewas assigned. The categorization of US POWs depended upon the affiliationof the initial capturing/screening unit; the extent to which he had beenexploited before his transfer to Hanoi; the POW's apparent areas ofknowledgeability established during preliminary screening; the POW's age,grade, intelligence, and position; evidence of potential compromise of DRVnational security; national origin and race; assessment of the POW's intent ordesire to escape; and, probably most important, the POW's degree ofcooperation with his captors.
Using these factors as criteria for exploitation, the CDV segregated USPOWs into the following three categories:
~ Category A: Those considered special because of the importance of theinformation which they offered. ‘
- Category B: Those considered to have the same potential but whorefused to cooperate.
~ Category C: Those whose continued presence in North Vietnam afterthorough interrogation offered little or no advantages to Hanoi. Thesewere released whenever it best served Hanoi's_purposes. Those in thiscategory were usually labeled “progressive” and had voluntarily turnedover material in their possession upon capture. "Progressive" POWsprovided all information available to them, including information aboutthemselves and their friends, relatives and families; and had beensuccessfully indoctrinated into realizing the "realities of the war and itseffect upon the DRV.” Not every “progressive” POW was suitable forexploitation because of intellectual limitations; because they had few orno contacts in the US of political value; because some were overlyconcerned with the well-being of their families and the negative effecttheir actions might have; and others refused to engage in propaganda orcollection activities even though they otherwise cooperated with theircaptors. .
Within the MND, the CDV Policy Office and the CNC were responsiblefor determining whether a POW would be eligible for release. Theserecommendations were then approved by Major General Le Quang Dao, theCDV Director; Lieutenant General Song Hao, the MND General PoliticalDepartment Director; Senior General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Minister of
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 120 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.