What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence summary from December nineteenth, nineteen-fifty-one, regarding the Soviet role in the Korean War. This document provides an early intelligence assessment of direct Soviet military and logistical support for North Korean and Chinese Communist forces. This record was released by The Black Vault under the Freedom of Information Act and is available at documents2.theblackvault.com. It was approved for release on December ninth, two-thousand-nine. The document, titled "The Soviet Role in the Korean War," states: Portraying itself as the champion of "peace," the Soviet Union has taken considerable pains to conceal or deny official involvement in the Korean War. This has been manifested in the denials that Soviet troops were in Manchuria, or that an "International Volunteer Force" existed or that the U-S-S-R has the power to intervene with "sovereign North Korean and Chinese governments." It is well established, however, that the Soviet Union exerts the ultimate control over events in Korea. Truce talks were initiated shortly after the Malik proposal, and the negotiations were resumed in October after Ambassador Kirk's strong representations to Vyshinsky. In contrast to Soviet protestations of peace, current intelligence shows very active Russian support, both in men and in materiel, of the Communist war effort in Korea. This support has taken the form of active participation, during almost the entire course of the war, in command, advisory and technical roles, and in a combat role, in recent months, to the extent of flying jet interceptors and manning anti-aircraft batteries. The Far East Command estimated in mid-September that upwards of [four lines redacted under exemption B1] Russians were physically involved in the Korean War. Only two-thousand of these were believed engaged in non-military pursuits. While no exact statistics are known on the scale of Soviet logistic support, a substantial amount of Russian materiel has been captured or destroyed, and the supply effort must be very large. The major role played by Soviet personnel has been advisory. Each North Korean division is currently estimated [three lines redacted under exemption B1] to have at least ten Soviet officers and five enlisted men, and Chinese Communist divisions may have a comparable group. In addition to the estimated two-thousand Russians performing an actual advisory capacity with ground, air, and naval units, [three lines redacted under exemption B1] command functions [three lines redacted under exemption B1] at one time or another by various Soviet individuals. The principal combat function performed by Soviet military personnel in Korea is in the field of air defense. Russian-piloted jet interceptor and conventional aircraft, Soviet-operated radar stations, and Soviet-served antiaircraft artillery are involved in this function. It is tentatively estimated that Russian personnel pilot about…

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.

CIA The Soviet Role In The Korean War

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence summary from December nineteenth, nineteen-fifty-one, regarding the Soviet role in the Korean War. This document provides an early intelligence assessment of direct Soviet military and logistical support for North Korean and Chinese Communist forces.

Date: OCT 15 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was CIA The Soviet Role In The Korean War about?: This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence summary from December nineteenth, nineteen-fifty-one, regarding the Soviet role in the Korean War. This document provides an early intelligence assessment of direct Soviet military and logistical support for North Korean and Chinese Communist forces.
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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CIA The Soviet Role In The Korean War

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