Evening star., 1953-06-11
The Political Mil
The Political Min
Korean Truce Proposal
Will Offer No Munich
We Went to Wor to Repel
Aggression, and Did Thot
By Gould Lincoln

A truce in Korea, with an end Of the
fighting, has for months been q hope.
an end to be desired. Now that it Is
in sight. however. with the Communist
forces yielding on the important pris-
oner-of-war issue and on other points,
the truce is denounced in some quar-
terS as q defeat for the United States
and the United Nations. The facts
show no such thing. The Communist
North Koreans first, and then later
with the aid Of the Communist Chinese,
undertook to gobble up the Republic
of Korea. Have they succeeded? They
have not. Have the Communists been
defeated in that aggressive move?
They have.
The United States and the United
Nations undertook to halt this agrees
sion. They took UP arms and went to
war. and they have succeeded. Presi-
dent Eisenhower, in his recent letter to
President Syngman Rhee, set forth
the situation clearly. He wrote: 1.-THE
enemy has proposed an armistice which
involves a clear abandonment Of the
fruits Of aggression. The armistice
would leave the Republic of Korea in
undisputed possession of substantially
the territory which the republic ad.
miniStered prior to the aggression, in
deed this territory will be somewhat
enlarged"
Rhee Dissatisfied.
This has not satisfied President Rhee
and his followers. They demand
unified country Of Korea by force
Of arms. They threaten to fight on
-ostensibly to attain their end.
President Eisenhower declaring the
United States is committed to the
unification of Korea, pointed out that
it is also committed to the unification
of other countries divided since the
close Of World War II, which Of course
includes Germany. He added; But
we do not intend to employ war as an
instrument to accomplish the world.
wide political settlements to which we
are dedicated and which we believe to
be just" Rather, he said. the United
States will seek by peaceful means to
effect the unification of Korea, par
ticularly in the political conference
which will follow the armistice. 1t will
be "our central objective" the Presi-
dent said.
President Rhee has said the South
Koreans will fight on in an attempt
to defeat the Communist forces and
run, them out Of any part of Korea.
The critics of the armiStice in this
country, If they are consistent. must
demand reopening of the fighting on
q greatly enlarged scale, even to at-
tackS on the Communists in Manchuria
and in China itself. Our allies in the
United Nations do not favor such an
extension of the war. The United
States, If it adopts such a course, may
find itself "going 1t alone" with the aid
of the South Koreans.
Speculation Idle.
It is idle at this point to speculate
on what might have happened a year
or two years ago had the advice Of
Gen. Douglas Macarthur been fol-
lowed, or had the U N. forces pushed
on with a major offensive at the time
the Communists first proposed nego-
tiations for truce. The situation as
battlefront has to be considered. PreSi-
dent Eisenhower has taken the posi-
tion that 1--WE would not be justified
in prolonging the war with all the
misery it involves in the hope Of achiev-
ing, by force, the unification of Korea" !"
Since the end for which the United
States and the United Nations went to
war, defeat of aggression by the Com
munist forces, has been attained, the
American people will consider carefully
the statements made by President
Eisenhower to the President of the
Republic of Korea. They will find the
logic of his position good. in the vast
majority. The Korean war, which will
60 down in history as important. was
fought to halt and repel aggression.
To liken its ending to Munich
especially when the peace terms are
still to be made-does not make sense.
President Eisenhower has promised no
appeaSement, and If he has his way.
there will be none. Nor is there to be
an abandonment of the Republic Of
Korea to future aggression. President
Eisenhower has promised to negotiate
with the Republic Of Korea a mutual
defense treaty. as soon as the armistice
has been accepted. He has promised;
too. his good Offices for economic aid
to Korea to help restoration of its
devastated land. Militarily, in num-
bers of trained men and in arms and
equipment. Korea will find herself in
comparably stronger than she was
when the Reds in North Korea opened
their attack.