Official Note from the Embassy of the Polish Republic in Korea

Polish Embassy Beijing, 8 August 1951

in Beijing

085/1/51[added by hand] BY COURIER [tilted stamp]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Independent Eastern Department

Head E. S?uczanski

The Embassy of the RP [Rzeczpospolita Polska—Polish Republic] in China is enclosing an official note together with annexes sent by the Embassy of the RP in Korea

St. Dodin

Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the RP

in China

 Pyongyang, 15 July 1951

Copy

Official note

Conference in Gaeseong

The talks in Gaeseong on the issue of a truce are a preamble to talks about peace in Korea. According to information I have from unofficial conversations, the condition for beginning a peace conference is the fulfillment of the following conditions by the American-Syngman Rhee side:

1. A ceasefire on land, sea and in the air

2. An exchange of all prisoners of war (here, people add that it is not to be one for one but all for all).

3. The freeing of all political prisoners in South Korea.

4. Keeping the transportation and machinery plundered by the Americans in Korea (it is a question of steam locomotives, train cars, cars and machinery, which were taken out during the retreat).

5. The creation of a neutral zone, a 20-km. strip, i.e., 10 km. to the North and 10 km. to the South of the 38^th parallel.

The question of withdrawing the American troops from Korea has left the agenda because the Americans claim that they cannot decide since these are League of Nations [sic] troops and not American ones, which is why one must talk with the League of Nations. The conference in Gaeseong has just been suspended, formally for two reasons:

a) because of the arrival of 20 journalists without approval from the delegates of the DPRK and the failure to reach an agreement concerning a neutral zone, since the Americans want to count 20 km. from the highest point of the front in the North. At the same time, a joint administration is being formed for the city of Gaeseong and surrounding area within 5 kilometers. There has already been a statement from Kim Il Sung regarding the issues in dispute, in which he said that these are trifles and that the conference should not be suspended over them. The dominant belief is that the talks will be restarted and that an agreement will be reached. It needs to be noticed that the last two communiqués of the KAT [sic] talking about the front were formulated in this way: “the troops of the League of Nations” and not, as has been so far, American and Syngman Rhee troops. (Of course, if our interpreter translated it well, we drew attention to this, he said that it was written like that). Taking part in the conference from the DPRK are: Minister Pak Dong-cho [Pak Tong Cho], Head of the General Staff Nam Il, General Ri Sang-jo [Ri Sang Jo] and delegates of the volunteer Chinese armies, General Dyn Chua and Gen[eral] Che Ban and others.

Diplomatic issues […]

Various […]

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