SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT BY POPULATION IN SOUTH

Senator COOPER. I know they were good fighters in the war. It is a political question, and in the judgment of you who have been there, is there such support of the South Korean Government which would inspire them, cause them to fight? Is that a factor which makes it difficult for them to withstand an attack?

Mr. PORTER. Sir, are you referring to support for the government by the population?

Senator COOPER. All right. Is there support for the government, let's put it that way.

Mr. PORTER. There is no question that there is support for the government in matters pertaining to possible aggression from the North. We have had very vivid examples of that in the infiltration of 1967 and 1968 when the internal security arrangements were far from perfected and where, I think, 80, 90 or 95 percent of the sitings and reports on infiltrators, armed men moving through the districts came in from the peasants who walked in many cases miles and in some cases took family casualties to make their reports to the authorities.

There is every sign in the south that the government has the kind of support that would be needed to encourage it to resist; oh, yes.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE UNITED STATES BEGAN WITHDRAWAL OF FORCES

Senator COOPER. In your judgment, what would happen if the United States began to withdraw its forces?

Mr. PORTER. There would be uneasiness until they knew the extent to which we would intend to go and, of course, the extent to whichI should have said the extent to which we intend to leave, and to cut down or adjust our posture and, of course, our intentions with respect to the modernization of their forces.

[Deleted.]

Senator COOPER. Was there any discussion, General, about the considered policy similar to the one we are now pursuing in South Vietnam, that is the Koreanization of the

Mr. PORTER. We have informed the committee that there are studies underway with respect to our base positions throughout the world, and those studies include Korea. We cannot authoritatively say at this point what adjustments will be decided on, but that subject is under close consideration.

General MICHAELIS. I would mention that it will be hard to "Koreanize" any more than has been done. The ROK's are 100-percent Koreans who are loyal and determined, and the armed forces are confident.

Senator COOPER. I was thinking more toward the reequipment of Korean forces. There is nothing moving in that direction?

Mr. PORTER. Equipment is a real problem.

Senator COOPER. Has any estimate ever been made as to what it would cost to supply the South Koreans with equipment such as we are now providing the South Vietnamese?

Mr. PORTER. I can only say I believe this to be part of the studies that I mentioned a while ago of just what costs would be involved

and what would be required in the way of discussion of the Congress on that subject eventually if decisions are made to adjust our posture. Senator COOPER. Go ahead. Do you know what the Japanese viewpoint is about withdrawal of troops from Korea?

Mr. PORTER. The Japanese have not touched directly on that subject, but they have made it clear that they consider the security of the Korean Republic to be vital to the security of Japan. In those terms they have expressed themselves.

Senator COOPER. I had understood it that way. I am through.

HIS EXCELLENCY U CHAN YANG

Senator FULBRIGHT. I am not sure whether the Secretary or the Ambassador is better qualified to answer. Do either one of you know His Excellency U Chan Yang?

Mr. PORTER. Yes, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Could you tell me what you know about him? Mr. PORTER. I know that he is a Korean gentleman in the United States with the title of Ambassador-at -large.

Senator FULBRIGHT. What does that title signify-what does it mean?

Mr. PORTER. It is really, I think, honorific.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Given to him officially by the Government of South Korea?

Mr. PORTER. I believe so, as a result of associations or services over many years in Korea and outside the country.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Do you know anything more about him? Was he formerly the actual Ambassador of South Korea to this country? Mr. PORTER. Yes; he was.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Just give me what you know about him, please. Mr. PORTER. He was Ambassador under Syngman Rhee.

Senator FULBRIGHT. What years?

Mr. PORTER. The years we would have to check, but that would mean prior to 1960, possibly at that time.

Senator FULBRIGHT. What is his status here in this country? Does he live in this country?

Mr. PORTER. I believe he does.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Do you know anything about him? I mean when you say you believe, if either of you can

Mr. PORTER. I know he is not resident in Korea, Mr. Chairman, and that he comes from the United States to Korea very periodically. Senator FULBRIGHT. Does he have diplomatic status here, do either of you know? In other words, is he a citizen of this country?

Mr. PORTER. I am informed that he is a permanent resident of this country, which does not mean that he is a citizen, and he is not accredited in any way to this Government.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Does he have diplomatic status?

Mr. PORTER. Not to our knowledge. We doubt it on that basis. I have discussed the matter of Ambassador Yang and I will be glad to go into that. I have discussed his activities here with the Prime Minister as to what I understood to be your objections to certain of his activities. Senator FULBRIGHT. I am primarily interested in finding out about him at this stage. I am not sure whether I object to him or not, but I would like to know more about him.

You know he is the honorary chairman of Radio Free Asia. I guess he is honorary chairman of the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation; isn't he?

Mr. PORTER. I believe so.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Do you have material on that?

RADIO OF FREE ASIA

Mr. PORTER. We were asked a question by the committee, Mr. Chairman, concerning the Voice of Free Asia with which I believe Ambassador Yang has claimed a connection. We don't know of any Voice, as such, of Free Asia. We know about Radio Free Asia. We believe that may have been the committee, the staff's intention there.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Yes.

This document I have before me is Radio of Free Asia, commonly called ROFA.

Mr. PORTER. Yes; Radio Free Asia. We have a statement on that as Radio Free Asia in reply to No. 22, question No. 22 of section 4 of your cable.

Mr. PAUL. What page is that?

Mr. PORTER. (Page 1742.) It does not go into Ambassador Yang. It goes into what we know about the status and activities of Radio Free Asia.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Radio Free Asia, if I am correctly informed, and this literature which is sent out, says underneath "a project of the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation, Inc." Is that what your information is?

Mr. PORTER. That is right. We have the same information.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Headquarters at 1028 Connecticut Avenue NW. Mr. PORTER. I don't have the address in our presentation. That is correct, I understand.

Senator FULBRIGHT. If most of this basic information is contained in it I don't want to take the time of the committee to go into it, but I did want to ask a few specific questions relating to this subject. Mr. PORTER. Yes, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. I will put it this way, is that whole document on it?

Mr. PORTER. No, sir. We have one section in the document.

Senator FULBRIGHT. How much?

Mr. PORTER. One page.

Senator FULBRIGHT. One page.

There are several things relating to this activity maybe I ought to ask you. Let me look at this for a minute.

It says the Department of State received a number of requests since Radio Free Asia was founded for U.S. Government financing and endorsement and has regularly declined to give either. That is not very informative.

I wondered if you could respond to a few other questions and, if not, you could supply them for the record. I am not sure whether you or the Secretary is the proper one to ask this question. Is the Ambassador?

Mr. PORTER. I will respond to the best of my ability.

Senator FULBRIGHT. If not I would hope the Secretary, since he is here on the floor, could find out for us.

This committee, as you know, has jurisdiction over the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and we conducted a long hearing on this. It has been largely ignored by a great many activities, and this is one which I am raising these questions on not because I have already decided on them, I never heard of this until recently. I did not know there was such a thing, but there are several questions I would like to raise that may or may not be related to it.

How many Koreans would you say are Christians, what percentage of Koreans are Christians?

Mr. PORTER. The Christian community in Korea, I would say subject to correction, numbers approximately between 2 and 3 million. Senator FULBRIGHT. That is South Korea?

Mr. PORTER. Affiliated, yes, in South Korea.
Senator FULBRIGHT. Not quite 10 percent.

Mr. PORTER. Yes.

Senator FULBRIGHT. 3 million in South Korea.

Mr. PORTER. Yes. Well, I would say close to 3 million people are affiliated.

Senator FULBRIGHT. What are the balance of the people, primarily Buddhists?

Mr. PORTER. Buddhists, Confucianists, various tendencies. Many of them don't show any particular affiliation to organized religion.

TAX-EXEMPT STATUS OF KOREAN CULTURAL AND FREEDOM FOUNDATION

Senator FULBRIGHT. Do you know what the justification for taxexemption status of the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation is? Mr. PORTER. No, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Would it be too much to ask the State Department to find out, because this is really in the area of foreign policy. This is not a domestic operation. They purport to broadcast from Seoul. Do you know that, Mr. Ambassador?

Mr. PORTER. They use the facilities of the Korean radio system.
Senator FULBRIGHT. The Government system?

Mr. PORTER. Yes, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Is it subsidized by the Government of South Korea?

Mr. PORTER. To that extent we are not certain whether they pay for time or not. We know that they use the facilities, and that certainly people like Ambassador Yang have entree. They are well known. We are not familiar with the actual arrangements between them and the Government.

Senator FULBRIGHT. If they use the facilities free of charge it would certainly be considered partially a Government operation, would it not?

Mr. PORTER. We don't know that they do.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Can you find out if they do?

Mr. PORTER. We will try to find out. In fact, I believe we are trying to find out now.

(The information referred to follows:)

United States Government authorities have been informed upon inquiry that the Korean Broadcasting System does not charge Radio of Free Asia (ROFA) for broadcast time. ROFA does, however, contract and pay for the preparation in Korea of programs broadcast in its name.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Is there any difficulty? Why would there be any difficulty about it?

Mr. PORTER. I wouldn't imagine there should be.

PROPAGANDIST ORGANIZATIONS WHICH OBTAIN TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

Senator FULBRIGHT. I see the Senator from Tennessee has come in. This is a matter which is subject to great abuse here domestically. It is bad enough domestically because there are a great many organizations disguising themselves as educational which are really propagandist in all kinds of areas, and they have obtained tax exemption.

Here these people are soliciting funds on a tax-exempt basis which means, in effect, the paying at least, what, 48 percent of the costs.

If you give a gift for this purpose, to propagandize the Korean people and all of Asia, I mean the Chinese people, and they are making some statements which, by process of association, the Government of the United States is subsidizing by a tax exemption. I can see no difference really as to the impact on the taxpayers and people of the United States whether you give them a donation of $100 or $1 million or whatever it is, and giving them a tax exemption which, in effect, takes it out of the Treasury and in an indirect way.

Don't you agree it is in the form of a subsidization; isn't it?
Mr. PORTER. It is something we should know more about.

Senator FULBRIGHT. And it is something you ought to know more about, and it is a very questionable practice.

This letter soliciting things goes into many things which are of a highly inflammatory nature, and the reason I ask you about the Christians is because you would assume from this that this is set up to fight anything but good Christians. They talk about freedom of life and life in America, and so on, broadcast to people who are less than 10-percent Christians.

Then it talks about drug addiction. It attributes the origin of much of our heroin to Red China.

Do you know whether or not that is true or not? Do you know how much of the heroin which we use in this country comes from China? Mr. PORTER. No, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Do you know?

Mr. BROWN. No, sir, but I should imagine very little.

Senator FULBRIGHT. But this letter leaves the impression it says "nor should we ever forget that one of the deadliest drugs of all, heroin, isn't grown in our backyards. Much of it is smuggled into this country from Red China."

Then one of the most interesting, it seems to me, in view of its popularity in this country-let me find it "The fight against communism means the fight to stop the flow of drugs to our youth, the flood of pornography and to stop the Black Panthers who look to Red China for their leadership."

Do you know whether the pornography of this country has its origin in China? This is your area of responsibility. Does it or does it not? Mr. BROWN. No, sir.

Senator FULBRIGHT. Well, I mean, really, you see this is a highly inflammatory

Senator GORE. Mr. Chairman, I have seen some cave paintings in Africa that are pornographic.