Evening star., 1951-10-23
New Try in Korea

NOW CQaC pOLn SlQeS nave agreed upon ar
rangements to guard against violating the neutral
zones involved, the way has been cleared for
new try at negotiating a cease-fire and armistice
in Korea. However, although the outlook has
thus frightened a little, the mere fact that the
truce talks are to be resumed-at Panmunjom
instead of Kaesong-does not mean that there
Is reason to expect an early settlement On the
contrary, unless the Communists return to the
conference table with their past demands sub
stantialy modified the renewal of meetings with
representatives of the United Nations command
will result in nothing but protracted hagglng and
another stalemate.
In any event, the record to date is evidence
enough that it would be optimistic in the extreme
to count upon the Chinese and North Korean
Reds to negotiate in Straightforward give-and-
take manner designed to bring about a speedy
truce agreement. They responded quite promptly
to last Junes Soviet proposal for negotiations to
that end, but thereafter-undoubtedly with the
Kremln's blessing-they resorted to weeks of
tedious hairsplitting before concurring with the
U. N. command on an agenda for the talks at
Kaesong. Then, two months ago-again un-
doubtedly with the Kremlin's blessing-they
suspended" those talks after having spent addi-
tional weeks baggling over the agenda's first
item.
That item-the drawing of a demilitariZed
cease-fire line-can hardly fail to lead to a new
impasse If the Communists are still determined
to hold fast to their past demand that the line
be fixed along the 3sth Parallel. Certainly, un-
less they are ready to background on this point,
the meetings at Panmunjom will get nowhere.
For the u N. command-which has insisted that
the line be established approximately along the
front now held by our allied forces-smpy can
not agree to move back to the parallel. 1t
cannot do so because any such move would
amount to militarily senseless retreat to less
defensible terrain from key territory won at
bitter cost The enemy negotators are well
aware of this, and if they are resuming the talks
in good faith, if they are sincerely seeking to
work out an armistice, they will act accordingly.
But even II the Communists promptly agree
to the u. N position regarding demilitarzed
line, they will continue to have plenty of oppor-
tunity to drag out the negotiations at Panmun-
jom. Thus, unless they are genuinely anxious
for an early cease-1re and armistice they will be
able to argue at great length over at least two
other items on the agenda-arrangements for
exchanging war prisoners and the working out
of system of inspection and surveillance to
guard against truce violations. Either of these
especially the latter-could be seized upon
as an excuse for weeks of time-wasting debate
and propaganda harangues of the kind that made
Kaesong synonym for futility.
Everything considered, therefore, the i'm
pending resumption of the Korean talks does not
justify high hopes for near-future end to the
fighting and dying. Conceivably. since they have
been hard hit by our American and Allied forces,
the Chinese and North Korean Reds-together
with their hackers in the Kremlin-may really
want to negotiate satisfactory armistice with
the u. N. command But unless and until they
give clear proof of that at Panmunjom the free
world must keep its fingers crossed and reckon
with the grim possibility that this issue, instead
of being settled by peaceful means may yet have
to be settled by all-out war.