Lot 55D128: Black Book, Tab 125: Telegram
The Advance Headquarters of the United Nations Command, Korea, to the Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (Ridgway)
priority
HNC 340. Following is translation of Korean text of message received by Col Murray from Col Chang at Pan Mun Jom at 071500I Oct. 7 Oct 51.
To General Ridgway Commander in Chief, United Nations Forces. We received your letter of 4 Oct on 5 Oct. We have already twice sufficiently explained, in our letters of 11 Sep and 3 Oct, that there is no reason for changing the Kaesong conference site. Moreover, in this letter you failed to present any new reasons why Kaesong was not suitable as the conference site. Therefore, we can see that the demand regarding changing the conference site fundamentally cannot be formulated. However, in your letter you demanded for the third time that the site be moved to another place. If this sort of demand is not to continue to delay the negotiations, it is just to evade the responsibility of disposing of the continuous provocation actions in which your side violated the Kaesong Neutral Zone Agreement, by changing the target. However, as a matter of fact, the incidents in which your side violated the Kaesong Neutral Zone Agreement are entered in the records of history and can by no means be eliminated even though the conference site be changed. Moreover, the responsibility which your side should assume concerning such incidents cannot be evaded even if the conference site is changed.
As everyone knows, the immediate problems are: to resume the armistice negotiations immediately; to prevent the recurrence of the incidents in which your side violated the agreement in the past; and by the delegates of both sides meeting at the conference table and strictly regulating the agreement regarding the neutralization of the conference site zone and the agreement concerning the security of the conference site. Especially, both sides should assume the whole responsibility [Page 1005] for the agreement. It will not be acceptable again for your side, making the excuse that you have no responsibility for this zone, to destroy it at will and deny it, restricting our side only, as you have in the past.
For this object, and in order to test once again whether your side has good faith towards the armistice negotiations we will again make an effort. We now propose to you as follows: Namely, we propose that the scope of the neutrality of the conference site be expanded to a rectangular zone to include Kaesong and Munsan, that the conference site be moved to Pan Mun Jom, and that both sides assume the responsibility of protecting the conference site. At the same time, we propose that the delegates of both sides resume the conference immediately at Pan Mun Jom, and at the first meeting after the resumption of the conference make regulations concerning expansion of the scope of the neutral zone and the principles concerning the security of the conference site; that by establishing appropriate machinery in which both sides participate, concrete and strict regulations be discussed; and that by guaranteeing their enforcement the smooth progress of the armistice negotiations be assured. After you agree to our proposal our liaison officers will immediately meet your liaison officers to discuss matters concerning the resumption of the conference by both delegations.
Kim Il Sung, Supreme Commander, Korean Peoples Army, Peng Teh Huai Commander Chinese Peoples Volunteers, certified signed by both commanders. (S) Nam Il General Nam Il, Senior Delegate Korean Peoples Army, Chinese Peoples Volunteers Delegations.