CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1953/07/17

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02020582
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: July 15, 2019
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2019
• Publication Date: July 17, 1953

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CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
11- NO.
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HF-i 70024
ATM,
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SECURITY INFORMATION
17 July 1953
Copy No.
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SECt JRITY INFORMAL, )N
SUMMARY
GENERAL
1. West German trade delegation may go to Peiping (page 3).
SOVIET UNION
ifComment on Soviet MVD purges (page 3).
. USSR reportedly to reduce terms of military service (page 4).
4. Comment on large Soviet purchases of food from the West (page 4).
FAR EAST
/ Early North Korean offensive on eastern Korean front indicated
(page 5).
Chinese Communist build-up opposite Tachens reported (page 6).
3.3(h)(2)
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
8, Negotiations for Anglo-Libyan military agreement concluded
(page 6).
9. Yugoslavia irritated by Turkey's attitude toward military
cooperation (page 7).
WESTERN EUROPE
10. Comment on East German proposal for all-German elections
(page 7).
11.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
GENERAL
1. West German trade delegation may go to Peiping:
3.3(h)(2)
West German officials have hinted to Ambassador
Conant that an official Federal Republic trade
mission to Peiping may be desirable in view of
the apparent success of British and French busi-
ness groups there. German officials had earlier stated that they were
having difficulty explaining to German businessmen the British deal with
Peiping.
Comment: Such a mission would be the first
official or semiofficial trade delegation to Peiping from a member country
of the China Committee. The British and French missions to Peiping last
month, which were unofficial, reportedly concluded agreements for the
eventual movement of 40,000,000 pounds sterling worth of trade each way,
but few actual contracts have been signed.
SOVIET UNION
2. Comment on Soviet MVD purges:
The purge of V. G. Dekanozov, Georgian MVD
chief, has been followed by the removal of three other Georgian MVD
officials, all of whom had previously held top positions in the police and
intelligence apparatus on the All-Union level.
In the Ukraine, on 16 July the local press
reported that P. Y. Meshik had been replaced as the republic minister
of internal affairs by former Ukrainian MVD chief T. A. Strokach.
In addition to purging the MVD of its Beria
elements, Soviet leaders are emphasizing the primacy of the party.
Military leaders, local party plenums and meetings of party personnel
in various ministries are reiterating their support of party decisions.
Unity of leadership through the principle of collectivity is also stressed,
indicating that Malenkov apparently intends to continue to operate behind
the protective cloak of government by committee--reminiscent of Stalin's
rise to power in the 1920's.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
3. USSR reportedly to reduce terms of military service
a recent cnange in
Soviet military laws will reduce by half the
term of service in specialized services, in-
air force but not the ground forces, and liberalize
draft exemotions for only sons.
3.3(h)(2)
Comment The USSR may revise conscription
practices in line with its recent internal "liberalization" policy, but any
reductions in terms of service almost certainly would not be to the extent
indicated by this report, and might be limited to certain specialists who
frequently serve longer than the legal term.
4. Comment on large Soviet purchases of food from the West
Recent Soviet purchases of food from the West
show that there has been no change in the government's policy of making
increased quantities of consumer goods available to the populace. On
14 July the USSR concluded a contract for 10, 000 tons, of Dutch butter,
at least eight times as much as it bought from the Netherlands in 1952.
On 22 june 6,000 tons of Danish butter were purchased, to be shipped
by October, the first such purchase from Denmark in more than a year.
Soviet officials told the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs that the
butter is required in view of the sharp rise in the Soviet standard of
living.
On 15 July Australian meat exporters reported
that for the first time since the war they had received cables from the
Soviet Union ordering frozen beef, mutton and pork.
Butter and meat have been in particularly
short supply in the Soviet Union.
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FAR EAST
5.
6. Early North Korean offensive on eastern Korean front indicated:
Comment:
While there
have been no other indications of a pending offensive on tne eastern front,
there has been increased patrol activity in the area. An offensive there
would be consistent with the recent pattern of Chinese attacks against
South Korean positions.
3.3(h
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The North Korean IV Corps is believed to have
moved recently from the west coast to the east coast area, which would
place nearly all North Korean forces on that part of the front.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
7. Chinese Communist build-up opposite Tachens reported:
Chinese Communist troop and junk concentra- 3.3(h)(2)
tions at Haimen, Huangchiao and Sungmen in
Chekiang Province opposite the Nationalist-held
Tachen Islands have reached the highest levels
yet reported, according to a usually reliable source from the area. Com-
munist troops reportedly are billeted in the theaters and temples at Haimen
and junks and rafts capable of transporting 10,000 men have been assembled
at nearby coastal points.
The source reports that Communist naval patrols
in the Tachen area continue frequent and that Communist signal flares
were sighted there on 9 July.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
Negotiations for Anglo-Libyan military agreement concluded:
The Anglo-Libyan negotiations in London for a 3.3(h)(2)
military agreement have been concluded, but it
must be approved by the Libyan Council of Min-
isters before it is signed.
Britain made a number of concessions, mainly
concerning the lands required for military needs and on criminal and
civil jurisdiction over its forces.
The Foreign Office expects some difficulties
over the still-pending financial agreement. The Treasury wants to
limit British assistance to the equivalent of $7,000,000 annually, while
the Libyans have requested $11,200,000.
Comment: This military agreement is an
annex to a proposed 20-year treaty of alliance. Last September the
Libyan Council of Ministers declined to approve the treaty because of
dissatisfaction over the provisions of the military annex.
In view of the increased anti-British sentiment
In Libya, the treaty's signature and eventual ratification are problematical.
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9. Yugoslavia irritated by Turkey's attitude toward military cooperation:3.3(h)(2)
Greek foreign minister Stefanopoulos considered
the tripartite foreign ministers' conference in
Athens which ended on 11 Tuly to be useful and
on the whole successful, but was dissatisfied
tween the Yugoslays and Turks.
According to Stefanopoulos, Yugoslavia resented
Turkey's reluctance to agree categorically that an attack against one of
the Balkan pact members would be considered as an attack against them
all. In retaliation, Yugoslavia refused to accept a Greek proposal to
establish a permanent military secretariat on the grounds that further
"military machinery" would be superfluous until agreement was reached
on the fundamental military problem.
Yugoslavia was also dissatisfied with Turkey's
failure to earmark what Belgrade considered to be adequate forces for the
Balkan theatre.
Comment: Turkey has proposed that aggression
against one country be considered only as a "menace" to the security of
the two others.
At the conclusion of the Athens conference, the
Greek proposal for the establishment of a permanent tripartite military
organ was referred to the general staffs for study.
WESTERN EUROPE
10. Comment on East German proposal for all-German elections:
The East German government's proposal of
15 Ally for all-German discussions leading to free elections is similar
to previous proposals it has made on this subject.
The failure of the East German government
to produce a proposal that goes beyond those of the past suggests that
this latest maneuver was hastily conceived to lessen the impact of the
Western call for four-power talks. The reappearance of the same
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proposal rejected by West Germany in the past indicates that no
serious thoughts of all-German elections are being entertained by
the East German government.
The proposal fits into the pattern of maneuvers
designed to create the impression that the USSR is willing to make con-
cessions on German unity. It may also foreshadow other Soviet attempts
to avoid a showdown on the crucial issue of free elections.
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