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. 7 …supervising the activities of military POWs who cooperated with Hanoi in the preparation of psychological warfare…
  • p. 16 …POWs, ARVN as well as US, who cooperated with their captors. The’ CDV exploitation of POWs…
  • p. 22 …Those considered to have the same potential but whorefused to cooperate. ~ Category C: Those whose continued…
  • p. 23 …other techniques used to coerce them to cooperate. After a POW was initially categorized, CDV and…
  • p. 24 …Interrogations were aimed at gaining the complete cooperation of a POW for use in antiwar propaganda…
  • p. 25 …preparation of handwritten POW statements from selected cooperative and "progressive" POWs; and supervised “progressive” POWs who…
  • p. 41 …to join the revolution and not to cooperate with the Royal Lao Government. The section also…
  • p. 52 …and investigation of released ARVNi POWs who cooperated with the MSS. The ARVN MSS estimate did…
  • p. 54 …The national police were special targets for recruitment because of the cooperation they offered in processing…
  • p. 67 …in size) on short rations until they cooperated with their indoctrinators/interrogators. It soon became apparent…
  • p. 68 …over arms depots intact, and who had cooperated with the liberation armed forces. Several hundred Category…
  • p. 94 …who had been appointed Prime Minister, to cooperate with the revolution in establishing a coalition government…
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5. B6 Propaganda Subsection: 83 personnel who studied and drafted
proselytizing programs against ARVN personnel and their depend-
ents. It also monitored RVN radio broadcasts in order to prepare anti-
RVN themes for wri_tten leaflets and broadcasts over the Liberation
Radio. Among its personnel were five ARVN defectors.
6. B7 Convalescent Subsection: 7 personnel.
7. B8 Illegal Courier Subsection: 40 personnel organized into a five-
man headquarters staff and four courier stations.
8. B9 Printing Subsection: 9 personnel.
9. B13 Food Production Subsection: 34 personnel.
10. B15 Medical Subsection: 9 personnel who operated the COSVN MPS
dispensary. " .
11. B16 Organization Subsection: 15 personnel organized into personnel
and internal security (bao ve) cells, and three 3-man inspection teams.
The subsection maintained all personnel files on COSVN MPS officers
and enlisted personnel; processed all CDV infiltrators from North
Vietnam for headquarters staff and field units; and conducted
counterintelligence investigations on cadres suspected of being
politically unreliable, of having violated party rules and regulations,
and of being doubled enemy agents. The subsection also provided
administrative support to cadres attending COSVN MPS meetings
and conferences. Security cadres received professional guidance from
the COSVN Security Office with which they coordinated counterin-
telligence investigations.
12. B20 (former B18) Military Proselytizing Training School: 12
personnel who prepared and conducted basic military proselytizing
and refresher training courses for agent handlers and legal agent
assets. It also provided professional training guidance for the training
components of subordinate regional-level military proselytizing
sections.
13. B22 Officer’s Management Subsection: 15 personnel responsible for
monitoring the activities of recruited ARVN officers, as well as
defectors who worked with the COSVN MPS B.6 Propaganda
Subsection. Among its personnel were five ARVN officer defectors.
The Forward Line Operations Wing (FLOW) was headed by Deputy
COSVN MPS Chief Nguyen Van Thuong, who concurrently headed the
COSVN MPS Fifth Column Movement Operations (Penetrations) Subsection
and its Mau Than Penetration Group. Thuong had a 40 million piaster
(US$200,000) budget for the year 1973/1974 and a 60 million piaster
(US$150,000) budget for the year 1974/1975. All funds were furnished to the
COSVN MPS by the CDV headquarters in Hanoi. Under Nguyen Van
Thuong, the FLOW had 450 personnel. Of this number, 300 were assigned to
18 movement operations (penetration) units (doi cong tac phong trao), which
had a total of about 60 agent handlers. These units were subordinate to the
Mau Than Penetration Group. Established in January 1974, the Mau Than
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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.