What did the declassified documents reveal?

Declassified. Today we present a declassified National Security Agency record titled "Chinese Communist Participation in Korean War." This memorandum, dated September ninth, nineteen-fifty, details early U.S. intelligence assessments regarding China's involvement in the Korean conflict. You can find this document on The Black Vault, at documents2.theblackvault.com. This document was released under a Freedom of Information Act request, case number F-two-thousand-and-one-zero-four-eight-six, and was declassified on May thirtieth, two-thousand-and-thirteen, by the National Security Agency. It is an example of the preliminary intelligence gathering that informed U.S. policy during the initial phase of the Korean War. The document reads: Memorandum to: Office of Staff Subject: Chinese Communist Participation in the Korean War One. Recent press, attaché, and agent reports, usually emanating from Chinese Nationalist sources in Taiwan, have stated that Chinese Communist troops have moved, or will move, into North Korea to assist the North Korean forces. One report claimed that as many as twenty Chinese Communist divisions are now in North Korea, including the One-Hundred-Fourteenth, One-Hundred-Fifteenth, One-Hundred-Sixteenth, One-Hundred-Seventeenth, and One-Hundred-Eighteenth Divisions of the Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, and Fortieth armies. Other reports have indicated that elements of the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Armies and the First and Third Artillery Divisions of the Fourth Field Army have crossed the Yalu River into Korea. The latter three armies are comprised of the One-Hundred-Sixty-Third, One-Hundred-Sixty-Fourth, One-Hundred-Sixty-Fifth, One-Hundred-Sixty-Sixth, One-Hundred-Sixty-Seventh, One-Hundred-Sixty-Eighth, One-Hundred-Sixty-Ninth, and One-Hundred-Seventieth Divisions. In addition to these reports of Chinese Communist troop movements, Chou Enlai, Premier of Communist China, has publicly announced that "China would not supinely tolerate aggression of a neighbor country," intimating that Communist China would intervene in North Korea if U.N. forces crossed the Thirty-Eighth parallel. Two. The six Chinese Communist armies referred to in paragraph one have been carried in Manchuria since early July nineteen-fifty. It has been determined through P.O.W. interrogation that the North Korean Fifth and Sixth Divisions were originally the Chinese Communist One-Hundred-Sixty-Fourth and One-Hundred-Sixty-Sixth Divisions, composed of Koreans who had served with the Korean Volunteer Army in Manchuria. It has also been established that Koreans and Manchurian-Koreans who served with the Chinese Communist army were returned to Korea and used as a nucleus to form other North Korean divisions. G.H.Q. estimates that at least One-Hundred-Forty-Five-Thousand Korean and Manchurian-Koreans have served with the Chinese Communist forces, and it is further estimated that Sixty-Thousand to Eighty-Thousand of these troops were returned to Korea. But we do not…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Case File · ARCHIVE-003Declassified

Filed NOV 3 · 2026Runtime 1 min

NSA Chinese Communist Participation In Korean War.

U.S. public record · FOIAUpdated November 3, 2026

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◆ BLUF — The short version

Declassified. S. intelligence assessments regarding China's involvement in the Korean conflict. com. This document was released under a Freedom of Information Act request, case number F-two-thousand-and-one-zero-four-eight-six, and was declassified on May thirtieth, two-thousand-and-thirteen, by the National Security Agency. S. policy during the initial phase of the Korean War.

Date: NOV 3 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Declassified. Today we present a declassified National Security Agency record titled "Chinese Communist Participation in Korean War." This memorandum, dated September ninth, nineteen-fifty, details early U.S. intelligence assessments regarding China's involvement in the Korean conflict. You can…

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Questions about this case

What was NSA Chinese Communist Participation In Korean War. about?: Declassified. S. intelligence assessments regarding China's involvement in the Korean conflict. com. This document was released under a Freedom of Information Act request, case number F-two-thousand-and-one-zero-four-eight-six, and was declassified on May thirtieth, two-thousand-and-thirteen, by the National Security Agency. S. policy during the initial phase of the Korean War.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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