Evening star., 1952-11-12
Korea and the Non-Budging KremIin

In submitting his surprising and dramatic
resignation as Secretary General of the United
Nations, Trygve Lie-one of the Soviet Unions
pet hates-has explained that he has taken the
action in the hope that it will help the U. N.
to work out Korean truce and save the peace
of the world Unfortunately, however, nothing
could seem more unlikely than that his gesture
will have the slightest effect on the present
deadlock or that it will succeed in persuading the
men of the Kremlin to move even an inch toward
conciliation.
This has been made clear by Andrei Vishin-
sky in his latest address to the General Assembly
For the Soviet Foreign Minister, speaking with
characteristic mendacity and virulence just prior
to Mr.. Lies announcement, has served blunt
notice that the Kremlin "wil not bulge" from
its position on the only issue that is supposed to
be blocking an armistice agreement. The issue
is the prisoner -of-war issue. AS a matter OF
common decency and simple humanitarianism-
and with the strong support of international
precedent-the United Nations Command insists
on the principle of voluntary repatriation. That
is to say, it insists on protecting from savage
punishment the thousands of North Korean and
Chinese captives who are desperately afraid OF
being handed over to their vindictive Red
masters and who have declared that they will
violently resist any effort to send them back.
On the other hand as set forth in the Vishinsky
speech, Moscow and its Pyongyang-P -Peiping pup
pets demand that all these men be returned
without exception, and at bayonet point or with
whips if necessary.
The Kremlin knows, of course, that the u. N.
Command will never agree to such vile form Of
repatriation. That point has been emphasized
time and again by our own representatives and
numerous other allied spokesmen, and it has
just been reaf1rmed once more-both in the
General .Assembly and in London-by Foreign
Secretary Anthony Eden and Prime Minister
Winston Churchill. AS Mr.. Churchill has put it,
the free nations, even though they yearn for
peace, cannot afford 'to purchase peace at the
price of dishonor," and it certainly would be
'dishonor to send thousands of helpless prisoners
of war back by force to be massacred." Yet,
despite being fully aware that this price cannot
and will not be paid, the Pyongyang-P -Peiping-
Moscow axis keeps on demanding 1t. Why?
According to MIR. Churchill, the answer is that
the Soviet dictatorship is deliberately intent
upon blocking an armistice at the present stage
because it seeks, by prolonging the war, to
disperse the strength of the Western world and
thus prevent or delay the Atlantic commu-
nity's defensive build-up against the threat OF
Subjugation.
Mr.. Churchill's analysis makes such grim
sense that its validity seems virtually beyond
challenge In the light of it, moves like the
Lie resignation look futile almost to the point
of being pathetic. The hard reality all OF us
must face is that there will be no truce or peace
settlement in Korea unless and until the men of
the Kremlin decide that they have nothing more
to gain from the present situation. Until they so
decide, we and our allies in the U. N, while
reckoning with the danger of an enlarged war,
will have little choice but to strive with additional
political, economic and military measures to
pressure the enemy into an agreement.