MONTHLY REPORT-SEOUL BUREAU- JANUARY 1987

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: February 4, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
EMBASSY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
SEOUL BUREAU
MSK-7004
4 February 1987
MEMORANDUM FORi Director, FBIS
THROUGH i Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT i Monthly Report - Seoul Bureau - January 1987
A. Editorial/Monitorial
FBIS
1. After several months of relative and welcome lull, the
Bureau's January wordage jumped to nearly 650,001, the highest total since
last July. The Korean and Chinese units both contributed to the increased
workloads translated Korean wordage totaled 270,080, and the Chinese
figure was nearly 168,088. Provincial campaigns in the PRC against
"bourgeois liberalism" accounted for a large portion of the Chinese total.
2. On the 22nd the ROK/US Combined Forces Command announced that
the 1987 "Team Spirit" exercises will be held from 19 February until early
May. The announced starting and completion dates are somewhat later than
in previous years. After a number of commentaries and editorials
denouncing "Team Spirit," Pyongyang has muted its campaign against the
exercise, at least temporarily, possibly at least in part because late in
the month the South accepted a letter from the North proposing high-level
political and military talks. Embassy and military consumers, as in past
years, are using Bureau material to track Pyongyang's reaction to the
exercise.
3. The torture death on 14 January of a Seoul National University
student in police custody has led to further political turmoil on the ROK
domestic political scene. The uproar over the student's death --
officially he is reported to have died after having his head held under
water for long periods during questioning -- resulted in the sacking of
the home minister and national police chief and has caused great political
damage to the government and ruling DJP. It has also pumped new life into
the fortunes of the opposition NKDP, and has moved prolonged inter-party
negotiations over constitutional revision back to square one. The Bureau
has filed a large amount of material from both Koreas on the affair, which
serves as one more reminder that a single incident such as this can ignite
the entire ROK political landscape. The opposition has set 7 February as
a "national memorial" day with rallies and other events to commemorate the
student's death.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
B. Lateral Services
1. On 31 December Ambassador Lilley visited the Bureau to express
New Year wishes. He also took the occasion to view Pyongyang television
footage of Kim II-song's "policy speech," given the previous day during a
session of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly. The Ambassador found the
footage of Kim and his son Kim Chong-il very interesting, and requested
that the Bureau put together a short clip showing various scenes of the
two Kims in action. The clip was prepared early the following week, and
was reviewed by the Ambassador, the DCM and the Political Counselor. At
the Ambassador's request, the clip was sent to MOD on the 14th for
conversion to the NTSC system and forwarding to senior State Department
officers concerned with Korean affairs.
2. On 30 January the Bureau Chief received a letter of
appreciation from Col. John E. Riddle, commander of the U.S. Army 581st
Military Intelligence Brigade, for Bureau reporting during the Kim I1-song
"death" rumor period in November and the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly
session in late December. The letter says in parto "The support,
analysis and timely information provided by you and your staff proved
invaluable to our liaison activities with Republic of Korea governmental
agencies and our ability to sort through the mass influx of data which
surrounded these two incidents." It included specific thanks for the
support provided by Deputy Chief and Senior Editor
C. Technical
On the 38th the Bureau Chief,
who was on an official visit to the Bureau, visited Pyongtask and
discussed with Signals Maintenance personnel the renovation of the
Bureau's antenna field. We learned that completion of the new antenna
that the Bureau will eventually use has been delayed further. Completion
is not expected before the and of March, and will be followed by a period
of operational testing. After the testing is completed -- perhaps by the
end of April -- the Bureau will be able to tie into the new antenna, which
may improve our reception of some PRC provincial stations.
A. Personnel
1. During January the Bureau received approval from
Headquarters to implement a new FBN Compensation Plan for local
employees. Implementation of the new plan is retroactive to 6 July 1986.
As has been the case for several years, salaries for employees in lower
FBN grades remain frozen at the previous level; this year's increase only
affects employees in grades FBN-9 and above.
2. Chinese Monitor who has been on maternity leave
since early in December, delivered a baby boy on 4 January. Mother and
son are doing well, and Amy expects to return to work early in March.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
B. Buildino & Grounds
The Bureau has received word from Embassy 6S0 that two
supplemental air conditioning units which were ordered from the United
States in September arrived in Pusan on 27 January. The new units, which
will be installed in the editorial and main radio rooms, should be
delivered to 6S0 by 12 February and installed by about the and of the
month.
1.I I chief of Field Support Branch of FED, visited
the Bureau from 28-31 January as part of a tour of Far East bureaus.
2. Major Charles Davenport, from the C-2 PsyOps Division of the
ROK/US Combined Forces Command, and Karen Jones, from the 9th Battalion of
the 4th PsyOps Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, visited the Bureau on
the 22nd for an orientation and briefing.
Chief, Seoul Bureau
Attachment
Monthly Production Report
cc: Chief, Okinawa Bureau
Chief, Hong Kong Bureau
Deputy Chief, Bangkok Bureau
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/18: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100120010-0
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