Statement of Molotov, Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Korean Question

TO THE PRESIDIUM OF THE USSR COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

to Cde. G. M. MALENKOV

I submit the text of my statement on the Korean question

.

[signed] V. Molotov

31 March 1953

Distributed to

Cdes. Beria,

Bulganin,

Kaganovich,

Mikoyan,

Khrushchev

Nº 332

The text of a statement by the USSR Minister of Foreign Affairs submitted to the Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Council of Ministers on the Korean question.

STATEMENT OF MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS V. MOLOTOV ON THEKOREAN QUESTION

On 28 March a letter of reply from Kim Il Sung, the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army, and Peng Dehuai, the Commanding General of the Chinese volunteer forces, addressed to General Clark, the Commander-in-Chief of the UN Forces in Korea, was published regarding an exchange of sick and injured POWs.

This letter expressed agreement to the exchange of sick and injured POWs by both sides and pointed out that agreement had actually already been reached on this question in the course of the armistice negotiations in Korea and that only the breakdown of the negotiations at Panmunjom had prevented this exchange from taking place earlier. At the same time agreement was expressed to conduct an exchange of sick and injured POWs in accordance with the provisions of Article 109 of the Geneva Convention regarding the period of hostilities. At the same time the letter stresses that such an exchange of sick and injured POWs should lead to an unimpeded settlement of the entire problem of POWs and thereby to the achievement of an armistice in Korea. The immediate resumption of negotiations in Panmunjom was proposed with this goal.

Immediately after this Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke in [Beijing] and Kim Il Sung, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, spoke in Pyongyang. Both the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea declared that they agreed with the proposal to exchange sick and injured POWs and as before express readiness to come to agreement about a settlement of the entire problem of POWs without delay and thus an end to the war in Korea.

The governments of the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea thereby displayed initiative in the matter of seeking agreement about an armistice and an end to the war in Korea.

I am authorized to state that the Soviet Government expresses its complete solidarity with this noble act of the governments of the PRC and the government of the DPRK and has no doubt that this act will receive warm support from the people of the entire world. The Soviet Government also expresses confidence that this proposal will meet with propersupport of the American people and that it will be correctly understood by the government of the United States of America.

[Translator's note: there are several versions of the text of this document: one has the above phrase crossed out, while another says that this phrase "was crossed out by hand by an unknown author"].

The Soviet Government has invariably supported all steps directed at the establishment ofa just armistice and an end to the war in Korea.

This was initiated in the reply of I. V. Stalin, the head of the Soviet Government, to an appeal of Mr. Nehru in July 1950.

As is well known, the radio statement in New York in June 1951 by the Soviet representative to the Security Council served as the basis for the start of armistice negotiations in Korea. These armistice negotiations, which were first held in Kaesong and then in Panmunjom, led to an agreement about all conditions of an armistice except the question of the repatriation of POWs. But the armistice negotiations were broken off by General Clark in October of last year, which held up the conclusion of an armistice.

In the above letter of Kim Il Sung, the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army, and Peng Dehuai, the Commanding General of the Chinese volunteer forces, agreement is not only expressed with General Clark's 22 February proposal about the issue of an exchange of sick and injured POWs, but also proposed a resumption of the armistice negotiations in order to put an end to the war in Korea.

The Chinese-Korean side accepted General Clark's proposal that an exchange of sick and injured POWs be conducted in accordance with Article 109 of the 1949 Geneva Convention about dealing with POWs. This article says:

"Subject to the provisions of the third paragraph of this Article, Parties to the conflict are bound to send back to their own country, regardless of number or rank, seriously wounded and seriously sick prisoners of war, after having cared for them until they are fit to travel, in accordance with the first paragraph of the following Article.DD Throughout the duration of hostilities, Parties to the conflict shall endeavor, with the cooperation of the neutral Powers concerned, to make arrangements for the accommodation in neutral countries of the sick and wounded prisoners of war referred to in the second paragraph of the following Article. They may, in addition, conclude agreements with a view to the direct repatriation or internment in a neutral country of able-bodied prisoners of war who have undergone a long period of captivity.DD No sick or injured prisoner of war who is eligible for repatriation under the first paragraph of this Article, may be repatriated against his will during hostilities".

This article of the Geneva Convention relates to the period before the conclusion of an armistice when hostilities have not yet ceased. Inasmuch as an agreement about employing this article has now been reached and might be signed by both sides in the immediate future no obstacles will remain to an exchange of sick and injured POWs beginning without further delay.

Special attention ought to be paid to the fact that in the statement of Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhou Enlai of 30 March which was drawn up jointly by the governments of the PRC and DPRK, it proposed not only conducting an exchange of sick and injured POWs but also resolving the issue of the repatriation of POWs on the whole, which will lead to the conclusion of an armistice agreement and an end to the war in Korea. For our part, the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea propose that, following a reasonable settlement of the issue of sick and injured POWs the entire issue of POWS be resolved so that both sides are guided by a sincere desire to achieve an armistice in Korea in the spirit of mutualcompromise.

Of course, the issue of the repatriation of POWs on the whole should also be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention, on which both the Soviet Government and the governments of the PRC and DPRK have both insisted. However, as everyone knows, neither the lengthy negotiations at Panmunjom nor repeated discussions of this issue at the UN General Assembly have produced positive results.

Inasmuch as this issue has remained the only difference between the warring sides in Korea which stands in the way of an armistice agreement, the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, guided by a desire to achieve peace and end the war in Korea, have made a new step toward a final resolution of this issue. They have proposed that both sides renew armistice negotiations and commit themselves to immediately repatriate all those in their hands who insist on repatriation after the end of hostilities and to transfer the remaining POWs to a neutral country in order to ensure a just resolution of the issue of their repatriation. Such a proposal provides an opportunity to fairly resolve the issue of the repatriation of POWs and remove the remaining obstacles to the achievement of an armistice in Korea.

There can be no doubt that the peoples of the entire world and all the people filled with an honest desire to put an end to the war in Korea and to further the consolidation of the peace and security of the peoples of the Far East and the entire world will greet this proposal with heartfelt sympathy and give it full support.

The Soviet Government acknowledges the entire fairness of this proposal of the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and expresses readiness to fully assist its implementation.

Today many people recall how powerless the United Nations showed itself in the issue ofestablishing an armistice and an end to the war in Korea. This lesson cannot be forgotten.This should especially be remembered by those who attach importance of the UnitedNations as an international center created to improve mutual understanding betweenpeoples and to strengthen peace throughout the entire world*.

* This paragraph was crossed out by the same person.

The fact that the Chinese people and the Korean people have been deprived of their legal representation in the United Nations, first undermines the authority of this organization and second, deprives it of the opportunity to properly promote the strengthening of international security and world peace.

The Soviet government considers it its duty to again issue a reminder [napominat'] that the issue of the restoration of the rights of the Chinese people and the Korean people in the United Nations is one of the pressing issues and that the restoration of the rights of China and Korea at the UN, especially in current conditions, will promote the strengthening of peace throughout the entire world.