Report from the Science and Technology Committee and the Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee on the Issue of Giving Scientific and Technical Literature to the DPRK

Secret

Science and Technology Committee of the People’s Republic of China

Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee of the People’s Republic of China

forwarding “Report on the Issue of Providing Scientific and Technical Materials to [North] Korea”

(64) Science, Intelligence; Serial 205

To All Relevant Departments and Agencies of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Guoji Shudian [China International Book Trading Corporation], and All Provincial, Municipal, and Autonomous Region Science and Technology Committees and Foreign Offices:

The “Report on the Issue of Providing Scientific and Technical Materials to [North] Korea,” jointly submitted on 30 November 1963 by the National Science and Technology Committee and the Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee, was already approved and agreed upon following various revisions made by the Foreign Office of the State Council and Vice Premier Nie [Rongzhen] on 5 January 1964. [We] are now forwarding the revised report to you. Please act in accordance with and implement [the report].

Science and Technology Committee of the People’s Republic of China (chop)

Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee of the People’s Republic of China (chop)

18 February 1964

Science and Technology Committee of the People’s Republic of China

Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee of the People’s Republic of China

Report on the Issue of Providing Scientific and Technical Materials to [North] Korea

(63-11) Science, International Liaison, Intelligence, Military; Serial 1225

To the State Council and Vice Premier Nie:

Beginning this year, [North] Korea has requested several times that it hopes to receive scientific and technical materials from us. They also hope to obtain science and technical information from capitalist countries through our country. In September, when Chairman Liu [Shaoqi] visited [North] Korea, he personally expressed to Premier Kim Il Sung that this issue can be resolved in a friendly manner.

[Our] conditions are better than North Korea’s [in that] each year China imports a large amount of scientific and technical publications from capitalist countries. China also publishes a significant number of public science publications, while there are also some internal intelligence publications. The scope and method of providing [scientific materials] to [North] Korea will be based on the following principles:

1. According to the request of [North] Korea, the Guoji Shudian can order scientific and technical publications from capitalist countries on behalf [of North Korea] and can [provide] Chinese photocopies of the public scientific materials from capitalist countries.

2. According to the request of [North] Korea, the Chinese Guoji Shudian can order scientific publications publicly [available] in the domestic market published by the Chinese Central Level Press and the Shanghai Publishing House (including academic conference papers and standard data) and university journals in the natural sciences publicly [available] in the domestic market on behalf [of North Korea].

3. Using a book exchange method, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China can provide [North] Korea with some general internal intelligence publications and publicly printed indexes and abstracts. For example, “Foreign Science and Technology News,” “ Trends in Science and Technology,” “Scientific and Technical Information,” “Standardized Work Report,” and “Specialized Indexes.” [We] also can provide copies of open source scientific and technical materials according to [North] Korea’s requests and our conditions.

4. The Guoji Shudian and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China can provide a catalog of the aforementioned scientific and technical texts so that [North Korea] can decide its order.

5. The aforementioned scope and form of providing [North] Korea with scientific and technical materials will be included in the Sino-[North] Korean Agreement for Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

6. When [we] provide information to [North] Korea which is not for export to other countries, it should be marked [as such] so that [North] Korea uses it for reference [only].

7. If [North] Korea takes the initiative to ask relevant departments for specific provincial or municipal publications or general internal publications, these departments should ask the Central Committee department in charge and the Science and Technology Committee to approve the decision. Confidential information and batches of published internal information provided to North Korea should be handled through bilateral scientific and technical cooperation.

If the above approach is feasible, then our Committee will send personnel to meet with the [North] Korean Embassy in China in order to negotiate the specific practices for providing information to [North] Korea and to establish contact units. We will also provide [North] Korea with a catalog of scientific and technical books which we can offer to [North] Korea.

If in the future Vietnam and Albania make similar requests, we may handle the matter using the above mentioned principles.

Please [provide] written instructions or comments [on the above].

30 November 1963