The Moscow connection

By Bruce Kennedy
CNN Interactive

It was no secret at the time of the Korean War that the Soviet Union had equipped North Korean forces. But documents made public after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. have revealed the full extent of Moscow's involvement in the conflict.

Among the highlights in the documents, which were kept secret for decades in Soviet files:

• Soviet leader Joseph Stalin approved North Korea's plans to invade the rival South and sent officers to help Pyongyang finalize those plans.
• Soviet pilots, with their identities carefully hidden, flew missions against U.N. forces in Korea.
• Soviet intelligence officers not only interrogated U.S. personnel taken prisoner during the Korean conflict, but a number of those U.S. POWs were transported to Russia -- where many were never heard from again.

According to documents uncovered by Alexandre Mansourov, a scholar of the Korean War, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung pressured both China and the Soviet Union for permission to invade South Korea.

Stalin initially put off Kim's requests. But in April 1950, during a three-week visit to Moscow by Kim, Stalin approved a "move toward reunification" of the Korean peninsula by force.

Kim then went by train to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung -- who, according to a report by the then-Soviet ambassador to China, asked for clarification from Moscow, and then approved the plan.

In a recent interview, Valentin Pak, Kim's former aide and translator, said the Kremlin was deeply involved even before war began in the Korean peninsula.

"The invasion plan was devised by Soviet advisers to the North Korean army," said Pak. "The battle plan was handed to us on tracing paper. The Soviet generals and colonels drew it up, then it was translated by Korean officers on their staff."

North Korean troops and tanks rolled into South Korea during the early hours of June 25, 1950. At first, the Soviet plans for North Korea's invasion appeared successful. But a skillful counterattack by the U.S.-led United Nations force routed the Soviet-equipped North Korean army and drove it back beyond the 38th parallel.

On November 25, the People's Liberation Army of China entered the war. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops overwhelmed the U.N. forces, throwing them into a headlong, southern retreat.

Mao had pressured Stalin for Soviet military support -- in particular, air cover. Stalin was reportedly concerned the appearance of Soviet warplanes in Korea would trigger a world war. At the same time, he apparently felt that a failure to support Mao would weaken his standing as leader of the communist bloc.

Several weeks after the Chinese offensive began, Stalin sent Soviet MiGs disguised in Chinese colors to the Chinese side of the Korean border.

"We pretended we weren't there," recounted Soviet Air Force Col.-Gen. Nikolai Petukhov. "They dressed us in Chinese uniforms. We had no documents on us -- except for a small badge with Mao Tse-tung on it."

Kathryn Weathersby, an independent scholar who is researching the Kremlin's involvement in the Korean War, says Soviet pilots helped prevent U.S. bombers from destroying vital supply bridges across the Yalu River -- the boundary between North Korea and China.

"The Soviet pilots were mostly World War II veterans," she says. "They were quite experienced, had combat experience. They also started using the MiG-15, the latest version, which was quite successful against American bombers."

However, the Soviets were restricted to flying missions only over the Yalu River area to prevent them from being captured by U.N. forces.

Up to 20,000 Soviet military personnel were estimated to have taken part in the Korean War -- although never on the front lines.

Stalin also used his involvement in the conflict to accumulate intelligence on the U.S. military. Reports from Moscow -- given to the U.S. Defense Department by the Russian government in 1992, and only made public in 1997 -- say more than 200 captured U.S. airmen were questioned by the Soviet military.

The Soviets were careful not to expose their role to their captives. In many cases, North Korean or Chinese officers asked questions posed by hidden Soviet officials.

The reports indicate the Soviets were particularly interested in acquiring details about the U.S. F-86 Sabre jet, one of the most advanced fighters at the time.

One of the questions still not fully answered is the issue of U.S. POWs who were reportedly taken from North Korea to the Soviet Union for further questioning. Estimates vary, but historians believe 30 to 50 U.S. captives were taken to the U.S.S.R.

Stalin's death in March 1953 not only brought an end to his totalitarian style of leadership, but apparently prompted an end to the Korean War

"Stalin wanted to keep the war going, as long as he lived," Weathersby says. "He saw it as a drain on American resources. But it enormously increased American defense spending; it also solidified the Western alliance against the Soviet Union. His thinking was shortsighted."

The new Soviet leadership, Weathersby says, "made a decision to bring the war to an end. It was their first foreign policy decision."

Truce talks, which had broken off, resumed shortly after Stalin's death -- and led to a cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula on July 27.