One of the benefits of the collapse of the Soviet Union has been a tremendous opening of information, as thousands of Russians devote themselves to "filling in the white pages" of their past. Much of this concerns the remoter period of Lenin and Stalin. Sometimes the revelations extend into the very recent past. There have also been a small host of independent military analysts and reporters who take their inspiration from the independent commentators and organizations in the U.S.A. Some of these men, such as Pavel Felgengauer have gained a certain following in the West, while others such as the appropriately named Andrei Soldatov remain relatively unknown.

My non-OWD life is devoted to the history of Soviet military aviation, particularly its pilots. But sometimes I find other materials which just seem too interesting, or too important to let them slide past me.

The following article is one such. I found it on a Russian website a couple years ago, translated it, and shared it with friends A couple of days ago, I went back and found that in the interim, the Russian webmaster seems to have made his own English language translation, but both the original article and his translation seem to have vanished from his site. All the more reason that I should make my translation available to the wider public.

Georgii Pobedonosets (George the Victory Bringer) is the Russian name for Saint George

The article in its original form begins beneath the fold.

-Rurik

                The situation was, as a final measure I raised the question about a Russian base in Korea with friends from the worldwide club of radio enthusiasts “Spooks”.  Their hobby is to use homemade radio receivers to listen in on military and special frequencies (in distinction from Russia this is not forbidden in other countries), and also to collect and to catalog  publications about electronic espionage around the world.  Learning that there are members of this club in very different countries and that for a long time they have exchanged information, the club commanded a very suitable base of information in the area of electronic espionage.  At least, except for Spooks, I have nowhere else encountered charts of the activity of the radio transmitters at Lourdes.

                But Eri[1] Bonder the leader of this club could not help at all.  “I have never heard anything about a Soviet or Russian base for radio-technical reconnaissance in North Korea. Could it possibly have been only just opened?  But I strongly doubt that Russia would do this after the decision to close Lourdes and Cam Ranh”, was the not very comforting response I received from Eri.

                The anniversary badge continued to be a bother, and it gave me no peace that a Soviet radio-espionage base might exist secretly in such an explosively dangerous region, when information about its existing now would be reason for a major international scandal.  But except for the badge in my hands there was nothing.

                I mostly forgot about the base for a while.  Until the news of the sentencing of diplomat Valentin Moiseev of working in South Korean intelligence.

The Judge reveals the secret

On 14 August 2001 the Moscow city court handed down its sentence in the case of Valentin Moiseev, the former deputy director of the 1^st Department Asia, of the MID (Ministry For Foreign Affairs) of Russia.  The ex-diplomat was found guilty of spying in behalf of South Korea and was sentenced to 4.5 years deprivation of liberty with the sentence to be served in a strict regime settlement.  In the hall of the presiding judge was published sensational information about the Russian base in the PDRK.  Here is the citation from the sentence:

“The court...established...fulfilling the conditions of APNB (spying for South Korea – A.S.), Moiseev V.I. ...handed over... in the fall of 1997 secretly compiled state secrets in the area of

military cooperation and content from secure information of the Korean Department of the 1 DA MID RF about military cooperation between Russia and the PDRK, in part concerning the fulfillment of the contract between the RF and PDRK for the MiG-29 and the completion of the functioning in the PDRK of the Russian radio-technical reconnaissance complex “Ramona”.

This was the first time that any of the listeners had heard name of the secret electronic espionage base operating, judging by the text, in the interests of our special services at the very least until 1997.

Birth of “Ramona”

True, it is not clear what was done at this base, nor in whose interests. From the judgement of the court one might draw the conclusion that the base was responsible for radio technical reconnaissance.  As defined by the Voenizdat[2] book “Radioelectronic Reconnaissance”, Radio technical reconnaissance (RTR) is a form of radio electronic reconnaissance for discovery and location of radio location stations (RLS), radio navigation and radio technical systems using methods of radio reception, and directional and signal analysis of radio signals.  Translated into Russian (or English - G.P.) this means that RTR does not listen to the secret discussion of the enemy but “only” provides enemy activity in the radio band consisting of patterns of the transmissions of the discovered radio stations. 

How this is useful, is explained best of all by Viktor Suvorov in “the Aquarium”:

“And thus, as a result of a multi-year analysis it appears possible to say “if RB-7665-1 appears in the ether, it means that four days later a massive flight to Ramstein will be executed”.  It is an inviolable rule. And if suddenly the station which we call Ts-1000 begins to work, then it is obvious to a child that military readiness of American forces in Europe will be increased....”.

                In the system of the Russian special services there are two organizations which are concerned with radio intelligence, the GRU and the so-called Third Glavk FAPSI - Main Administration of Radioelectronic Reconnaissance by Means of Signals (GURRSS).  Information which might be obtained by means of radio technical reconnaissance has clear military significance.  And most the top secret “Ramona” belongs likely to the department of military reconnaissance, and all things considered, specifically with the help of this base our reconnaissance kept track of US aviation in Japan.

                I found one more argument in favor of our interpretation that the “Ramona” base worked against Japan and the USA in the book “Kim Chen Ir” which quickly was provided to me.  The book was written by two defectors from North Korea, Kim Han Sik and Son Kwan Du and published in 1998 in a limited tirage by “Shartarap” publishing in Alma Ata. (In South Korea the book was printed in October 1997).

Defectors remember that “till 1995 (This is what the downloaded text says; I suspect a typo, and that it should read till 1985 - G.P.) relations between North Korea and the Soviet Union were chilly.  But from 1985 there was an expansion of military contacts because North Korea undertook the task of modernizing its army.  After the visit of a Soviet military delegation to Pyongyang in honor of the fortieth anniversary of liberation, in the following year, 1986 a large group of generals, to the number of 470 individuals went to the USSR for study....In Ansan, Hwanghae Province, the reconnaissance base “Ramona” was fitted out for collection of reconnaissance information about the American army deployed on Okinawa.  .In connection with this the number of military specialists was increased by and additional 80 men.

And the inglorious conclusion

According to the words of knowledgeable sources, by the summer of 1996 discussions were held about the closing of our base in North Korea.  And on 11 June 1996 the MID RF (Foreign Ministry-RF) received a document from the PDRK embassy concerning discontinuation of activity under the Russian-North Korean agreements in the area of military reconnaissance.  Thus ended the history of our most secret Radioespionage base beyond the borders.

                However, perhaps it might not have concluded.  In April 2001 a PDRK military delegation came to Moscow for the first time in ten years.  On the Russian side discussions were led by Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov, and on the North Korean side by Minister of the Peoples Armed Forces of the PDRK, Vice-Marshal Kim Ir Cher.  The result was a signed agreement on the development of cooperation in the military area.  Nothing is known about the substance of this document.  Perhaps there is a point about the resumed functioning of “Ramona”...

Okinawa - the object of reconnaissanceAfter the second world (war) Okinawa was separated from Japan and for a long time was under the administration of the USA, and on its territory was constructed a whole complex of American military bases.  It was a complicated situation summarized by one journalist as  “No American bases are located on Okinawa, but Okinawa on the bases”.  On 15 May 1972 in accordance with an Japanese-American intergovernmental agreement Okinawa was returned to Japan and again became one of its 47 prefectures.  However, the US military bases remained.  At the present time thee are 11 US bases located on Okinawa, taking up 20% of the island’s territory.  This is 75% of all American bases in Japan.

Contributed by George Mellinger on September 26, 2006 at 01:21 PM in George Mellinger, NoKo, Russia | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: RoninNSA

When the USS Liberty was snagged by the DPRK, Page after page of TS/SCI stuff was televised (I assume) to the CCCP. No reason to televise to their own citizens or any other non-English speaking population.

I truly miss the good old cold war days when you knew where your enemy was. :o)

Posted by: RoninNSA | Jun 15, 2007 11:29:41 AM