Office of the Historian

795.00/10–1750: Telegram

The Consul General at Hong Kong (Wilkinson) to the Secretary of State

secret
Hong Kong, October 17, 1950—3 p. m.
[Received October 17—11:02 p. m.]

814. Hong Kong source furnished following report it considers reliable. Chinese Communist Party central authorities October 3 transmitted to Communist Party Municipal Committee Peking document with contents as follows:

1.
With voluntary withdrawal Korean [People’s] Army from Seoul September 30 war entered new stage.
2.
During initial stage Korean peoples army made splendid record annihilating over 70,000 American-Rhee bandit troops and liberating over 95 percent Korean population and territory.
3.
Present stage analyzed as follows:
a.
Korean war has become long and exhausting one from which American imperialists will be unable extricate themselves.
b.
Korean Army unbeaten and remains powerful force gaining recruits at home and abroad. Although it has abandoned certain territory it has gained enormously in strength.
c.
Almost all American military forces in Far East committed in Korea and US will be unable send replacements for some time. UN also unable send more troops so in long exhausting war aggressors bound to be defeated.
d.
As war becomes more difficult all Koreans become more firmly united behind Kim Il-sung.
e.
Fighting will become more fierce every day. People’s army will fight for every inch of ground but realizes outcome of war not dependent on possession or loss of a city. It can withdraw from Pyongyang as it did from Seoul. PLA abandonment Yenan is precedent this sort of action.
f.
We predict Korean peoples army, with sympathy and support all peace-loving people, particularly people of China, will undoubtedly win final victory.

Comment: Document has ring of authenticity and strengthens opinion formed by Consulate General from study of recent public statements by Chinese Communist leaders that military support of North Koreans by Peking will be limited to covert assistance. Reference to [Page 977] recruits from “abroad” suggests assistance will include enlistment of Koreans from Manchuria.1

Repeated information Taipei 90.

Wilkinson
  1. Telegram 856, October 20, from Hong Kong, not printed, transmitted information on the receipt of a report, evaluated F–3, on an emergency meeting in Peking during the previous week at which Communist China decided to participate in the Korean War. The report also said that 400,000 Communist troops were on the border, alerted to cross into Korea by October 20. (746G.00(W)/10–2050)↩