Russian Fieldpost in North Korea, 1950?

North Korea

Outside the USSR, after 1946 field post correspondence was only used by Soviet troops in occupied territories (e.g., Korea, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, etc.). Registered letters sent through field post offices after 1946 are extremely rare and normally have NO censor mark. Moreover, no international letters sent with Field Post cancellations from the Russian army in one foreign country to another (say. from Germany to Hungary) are recorded. Thus, the only situation in which this letter could exist is if it had been sent from the Russian Army within North Korea to a Pyongyang addressee in a Russian military or governmental organisation located there, such as, in this case, VOKS.

Officially, Soviet troops had withdrawn at the end of 1948, but diplomatic representation was maintained. together with military observers and advisors who replaced ground troops. The nominal mission of the USSR All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (known as ‘VOKS’) was to promote peace and understanding between the Soviet people and other peoples of the world. However, the actual mission of VOKS was to promote Soviet ideology, policy, and influence overseas.

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This article originally appeared in Vol. 58, no. 4 (October 2020) of the Military Postal History Society Bulletin and is reprinted here by permission.

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Anthony Bard
I collect North and South Korean Postal History from 1945, focusing on the Korean War and the countries involved in the conflict and post-Armistice commissions. I live in London.

4 thoughts on “Russian Fieldpost in North Korea, 1950?

    1. Very interesting information! Do you have any information on Soviet Field Post Offices in North Korea?

      Очень интересная информация! У вас есть информация о советских полевых почтовых отделениях в Северной Корее?

  1. This cover looks 100% Russian. For those who don’t understand Cyrillic alphabets, how to tell this item was mailed within DPRK? Any clues? Thanks.

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