Office of the Historian

695A.0024/4–2053

Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Johnson) to the Secretary of State1

secret
[Washington,] April 20, 1953.

Subject:

  • Recent Developments in Korea
1.

Exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. Under the agreement for the exchange of sick and wounded, signed April 12 [11], the Communists are to deliver 600 UNC personnel at the rate of 100 per day, while the UNC delivers 5,800 Communist personnel at the rate of 500 per day.

On April 19 the first POW exchange took place. The Communists received 400 North Korean and 100 Chinese sick and wounded, while the UNC received 30 US, 50 ROKs, and 20 other allied personnel. Communist staff officers stated that in the next exchange of April 20 another 35 US personnel would be included.

General Clark reported today2 that, since the preparation of the original roster, 475 additional Koreans and 75 additional Chinese Communists have become eligible for repatriation as sick and wounded. In accordance with his recommendation, General Clark is being authorized to inform the Communists of this additional number, pointing out that under the Geneva Convention the exchange of sick and wounded is supposed to be a continuing process and reiterating the request that the Communists reexamine the prisoners held by them to determine whether there are any additional UNCPOWs who could be included in the exchange.

2.

Resumption of Armistice Negotiations. On April 16 [17], General Harrison replied to the Communist letter of April 93 suggesting the resumption of the armistice negotiations. The reply stated that an arrangement, such as the following might lead to a resolution of the POW problem: (1) That the neutral state be a nation such as Switzerland, (2) That non-repatriable POWs be released to the custody in Korea of the neutral state, (3) That after a reasonable time, such as 60 days, “during which opportunity has been afforded by the neutral state to the parties concerned to determine the attitude of individuals in its custody with respect to their status”, the neutral state will make arrangements for the peaceable disposition of those remaining in its custody. The reply further stated that unless an acceptable agreement is reached within a reasonable time it will be advisable to recess the meetings again.

On April 18 the liaison groups of both sides met and set 11:00 a.m., April 25, as the date for the resumption of the armistice negotiations by the Delegations.

At the meeting of the liaison officers,4 the senior Communist delegate stated that he had instructions to make a statement including the following points: (1) The Communists have made an “obvious” concession as to the steps, time and procedure of the repatriation of prisoners of war, (2) Non-repatriable prisoners should be “handed over” to a neutral state so as to ensure a just solution to the question of their repatriation, (3) “Only consultation and discussion at the conference are the proper way of settling questions.” Concrete suggestions of either side should be put forth at the plenary meetings.

3.

Instructions to Moscow. Ambassador Bohlen has been instructed,5 if the opportunity is offered to do so informally and casually, to inform the Soviets that 1) the UNC cannot change its substantive position on non-forcible repatriation, 2) General Harrison’s proposal is a reasonable and practical compromise in the framework of the Chou En-lai statement, and 3) unless an armistice agreement is promptly reached at Panmunjom the reaction of the American people will be strong.

In reply to two questions by him, the Department informed Ambassador Bohlen6 that 1) We consider Switzerland the most logical and acceptable neutral state. We do not, however, exclude the possibility of other non-Soviet bloc states, such as Sweden or Norway. We would probably not oppose India if the terms of reference are clear and custody [Page 921] is taken in Korea,7 2) By “peaceable” disposition of prisoners, General Harrison in his letter of April 16 meant “non-forcible” disposition.

We will keep you currently informed by telegraph of developments in this regard.

  1. This memorandum was drafted by Treumann and cleared by Young. A marginal note on the source text by O’Connor indicated that the Secretary of State saw this memorandum on Apr. 23.↩
  2. In telegram HNC 1634, Clark to JCS, not printed. (Matthews files, lot 53 D 413)↩
  3. Neither printed; for text of General Harrison’s letter, see Department of State Bulletin, Apr. 27, 1953, p. 608; the Communist Delegation letter of Apr. 9 is printed ibid., Apr. 20, 1953, pp. 575–576.↩
  4. The substance of the record of this liaison meeting is in telegram Z 36315, Clark to JCS, Apr. 19, 1953, not printed. (Matthews files, lot 53 D 413)↩
  5. In telegram 780 to Moscow, Apr. 17, p. 914.↩
  6. In telegram 782 to Moscow, Apr. 18, p. 917.↩
  7. The following note appeared on the source text in Johnson’s writing: “This will be corrected in light our conversation today. UAJ.”↩