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MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Preliminary Assessment of BLACK SHIELD7 over North Korea
Sunnary
BLACK SHIELDlown over North Korea onbtained photography of the entire southern half of the country. quality was good, andercent of the area covered was cloud free.
The mission obtained good baseline coverage of most of North Korea's armed forces as well as large portions of the transportation system and industrial base. Air force and navalthose in the northern part--worc well covered. There were no unusual air or naval deployments, but some new equipmentew base for Komar--missile patrol boats were identified.
Good coverage was obtained of both North Korean and ROK military forcos and activity along the DMZ. No North Korean ground forces build-up was observed in or near the DMZ. The North Korean surface-to-air missile defenses appear to beigh state of readiness. The USS Pueblo was anchored in an inlet in Wonsan Bay, attended by two North Korean patrol boats and guarded by three Kotnars.
Note: This memorandum was prepared by the Directorate of Intelligence
FOR RELEASE DATE; AUG lluuv
i Diss
No
USS Pueblo
pueblo is at an offshore anchorage in
a small, isolated bay north of Konsan with two North Korean patrol boats anchored alongside. No damage to the Pueblo is discernible. There is no evidence of activity around the Pueblo, with the exception of tho two patrol boats.
Ground Forces
force activity along the DM2as far as the center of the countryand no major concentrations of forcesmovements were seen, f
coverage willood basis
ior evaluation of future construction activities and deployments.
the ROK side of the DMZ thereevidence of vehicle movements andin contrast to the hiqhlystatic,
on the North Korean
Air Forces
of the most important ofilitary airfields were covered by this mission
and aircraft dispositions were in accord withestimates. The number of fighterwas in some instances below the presentbattle,
5. At Pukchang-ni Airfield, where most new fighter aircraft are delivered from the USSR,uselage shippingfor theeen. If these crates were delivered rocently, their delivery wouldew dimension to the current aircraft procurement program of
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No'TWytMon i
No foreign Disseir.
North Korea, which has been re-equipping with the more advancediahbed supplied by the USSR. There has been no evidence of an emergency delivery since the current crisis began.
6. The mainet light bomber base at Uiju near the Chinese border was not covered, but there ia no evidence that any of these aircraft have deployed toward the DM2. The normal complement ofas seen at Sunan near Pyongyang, the otherase.
Naval Activity
7. About half of North Korea's naval force was soen by this mission. No unusual vesselor build-ups were seen along the southern half of the east and west coasts.
Seven of North Korea's eight Komar guided-raissile patrol boats were in their normal operating area near Wonsan, three of them apparently guarding the small bay where Pueblo is anchored.
A new support base for the Komar squadron and its Styx missiles was identifiedeninsula in the Wonsan area. The base consistsois-sile support facility, docking areas for the boats,
As many astyx mis-silc crates can be seen in the missile support area.
10. The mission provided no major changes to the naval order-of-battle in the areas covered, with the exception of tho presence of two Shershen-class torpedo boats in the Wonsan area. The Sher-shen is the most modern Soviet torpedo boat, and these vessols were probably supplied by the USSR as part of its military aid program to North Korea.
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lass torpedo attackthe North Korean Navy were not seen.
Hallway and Koac Activity
Examination of major roads and railways from the DMZ northward discloses no evidence of unusual movements or major troop or supply build-ups. Immediately north of the DMZ no unusual truckwore on the major roods and the levol ofin the rail yards at the southern termini of the lines was normal.
Further to tho north, in the induatrialized portion* of North Korea, more road and rail activity was obsorved. The anount of rail activity on the main lines and in the principal rail yards isnormal, however, and is probably serving routine economic and industrial needs. Roadalso appears to bo at normal levels. Norail or road activity was evident in the Won-san area.
Surface-to-Air Missile Defenses
North Korean surface-to-air sites are probably completely operationalto beigh state of readiness. thenown sites were covered, andobserved at all sites. One to threeon launchers at all but one of the sites,were clear of snow. No new sites havoso far. The SAM support area atalso covered, but no unusual activity was noted.
Coastal Defense Cruise Missiles
known Samlet coastal defensesite at Nampo on the west coast wassome vehicles were observed. /
the bay on the normemruise missile site was newly identified. Past photography shows thai this site has been there
and no equipment has been observed,tnat it is inactive. No other coastalcruise missile sites have been identified in North Korea.
Industry_ and Transportation
16. Lxtensive coverage was obtained of North Korea's major industrial complexes and major transportationrail, andthe southern half of tho country. All thecomplexes examined were active, but there is no unusual activity. North Korea's majorstorage facilities were not covered by this mission, but the smaller sites in the southern part of tho country show no evidence of recent expansion or unusual activity. None of the five North Korean merchant ships can be identified in the ports
Original document.
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