ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 1555 2 October 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 0955) 29 September 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | KWON Yong Ho (權永浩) (권영호) |
| RANK: | Pvt (戰士) |
| AGE: | 29 |
| DUTY: | Rifleman |
| UNIT: | 98th Regt, 6th Bn, 2nd Co, 1st Plt |
| EDUCATION: | KOWA Medical College (TOKYO) (3 yrs) |
| OCCUPATION: | Secretary of the SEOUL Industrial College |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | 2 km North of KOCH’ANG (1080-1410) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 25 Sep 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | HWANGHAEDO, SINCH’ON GUN, MUNHWA MYON, SUJANG NI, #75 (黃海道 信川郡 文化面 壽長里 七五番地) |
| HOME ADDRESS: | Same as above |
| INTERROGATOR: | NAGAO (FEAF) |
PW surrendered to the US forces. Not recommended for further interrogation.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Chronology:
| 25 Jul 50: | PW was inducted into NKPA at P'YONGYANG and received 10 days of basic infantry training. |
| 5 Aug 50: | A group of 1,000 recruits departed P'YONGYANG on train. |
| 7 Aug 50: | Arrived at SARIWON. PW was assigned to the 98th Regt, 6th Bn, 2nd Co, and received 1 month of tactical infantry training. |
| 5 Sep 50: | The 98th Regt departed SARIWON on a troop train. |
| 7 Sep 50: | Arrived at T’OSOAN and immediately departed on foot. |
| 10 Sep 50: | Arrived in SEOUL. |
| 11 Sep 50: | Arrived at YONGDUNGP'O and boarded a troop train. |
| 14 Sep 50: | Arrived at YONGDONG via TAEJON. The troop train was attacked several times by aircraft but no casualties. |
| 15 Sep 50: | The 98th Regt departed YONGDONG on foot. |
| 24 Sep 50: | The original 98th Regt which departed SARIWON was composed of approximately 1,200 men but, upon arrival at a point 2 km North of KOCH'ANG, the total had dwindled to approximately 1,000 men. PW states that more than 200 men deserted while enroute from SEOUL to YONGDONG. |
| 25 Sep 50: | PW heard that UN forces had entered KUMCH’ON. All the officers of the 98th Regt suddenly fled towards KOCH’ANG and left the troops without orders. At 1900 hours, UN forces arrived from the north and the 98th Regt fled towards the mountains in small groups. PW fled but later surrendered with 150 other PsW. |
Unit Organization and Strength:
Original organization and strength: 98th Regt was organized as a replacement unit and was known as SARIWON Unit composed of two (2) battalions. Each battalion composed of two (2) companies and each company composed of five (5) platoons. The total strength was approximately 1,250 men.
Last known composition of unit: Approximately 100 men were captured by US forces on 25 Sep 50 and the PW believes that the remaining 900 men fled into the mountains near KOCH'ANG.
Equipment:
None of the men in the 98th Regt were equipped with weapons. The officers had pistols and SMGs.
Communications:
Roads: Highway between TAEJON and KUMCH’ON was in good condition.
Railroad: The RR line from YONGDUNGP’O to TAEJON was in fairly good condition and all damaged bridges were repaired temporarily for the trains to pass.
Intentions:
PW heard that the 98th Regt was scheduled to replace a unit in KOCH’ANG.
Knowledge of Other Units:
Another replacement unit called the NANAM Unit, composed of approximately 1,000 men joined the 98th Regt (SARIWON Unit) at KWAN’GI-RI. As of 25 Sep 50, approximately 50 men of the NANAM Unit were captured by US forces and PW believes the remainder of the Unit fled into the mountains. near KOCH’ANG.
Morale and Propaganda:
The morale of the troops was extremely low because all the men were forcibly dratted into the NKPA. None of the men were given arms and there was no will to fight. PW was in KUMCH’ON when he saw a US propaganda leaflet. A large number of men in his unit had read leaflets and the PW believes that they were very effective in causing many of them to surrender to the UN forces.
4. GENERAL:During May 50, all the people in P’YONGYANG were given two cholera immunization injections. PW does not know of any eruptive cholera cases in North KOREA during 1950.
For the Commanding Officer:
WEELDREYER
Executive
