NORTH VIETNAMESE EXPLOITATION OF U.S. POW'S

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-6-4-14-5
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: October 1, 2009
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: June 25, 1970
• Content Type: MEMO

No Objection To Declassification 2009/10/01 : LOC-HAK-6-4-14-5
- 1P
0
SECRET INOFORN
INFORMATION
June Z5, 1970
MEMORANDUM FOR DR. KISSINGER
FROM: John H. Hoidridge
SUBJECT: North Vietnamese Exploitation of U. S. POW's
Director of Central Intelligence Helms has sent you a second report on
the debriefing of a North Vietnamese rallier concerning the exploitation
of U. S. POW "s in North Vietnam (Tab A). The major points are as
follows :
-- responsibility for the exploitation of U. S. POW's rests with
the Ministry of Public Security, but is shared with the Ministry
of Defense and the Office of the Prime Minister in order to achieve
the broadest and most thorough handling possible.
-- attempts to gain the cooperation of the POW's are emphasized,
and various techniques including ideological indoctrination are
used to this end.
--. POW's are held in prisons or detention centers with the former
assuming responsibility for the more uncooperative cases.
-- the immediate objectives of the exploitation process are to gain
all information on U. S, forces, including tactics and methods,
personnel and morale, and weaponry.
-- longer range objectives include the preparation of various studies
the sharing of information with other Communist
on the U
S
. ,
.
countries, and the limited recruitment of POVi's.
MORI/CDF
C05082098
- - U. S. POW's captured in South Vietnam are moved to North Viet-
nam as rapidly as possible.
ON-FILE NSC RELEASE
INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
SECRET/ NOFORN
No Objection To Declassification 2009/10/01 : LOC-HAK-6-4-14-5
 No Objection To Declassification 2009/10/01 : LOC-HAK-6-4-14-5
SECRET/NO:'ORN
Comment- CIA points out that the debriefee was never personalty
involved in the exploitation of POW's but pieced his information
together from various sources over a period of years. CIA. believes,
however, that his information is generally consistent with that obtained
from released POW's and, other sources, and that it provides the most
comprehensive picture of the processing of POW's now available.
There are some questionable aspects to his testimony -- the alleged
recruitment of POW's as agents as well as covert contacts between
POW's and their next of kin. These were points which the defector
had covered earlier and which we have not been abi.e to corroborate.
CIA has no evidence to confirm these two points.
SECRET/NOFORN
JMOX-JMR JHH:ME:bib 6/25/70
No Objection To Declassification 2009/10/01 : LOC-HAK-6-4-14-5