Evening star., 1953-04-18
ruce
Continued From First Page

son officers meeting will be set
ting a date for the formal talks.
There is a chance, however. the
Reds may give some indication of
their feelings toward the U. N.
proposal to settle the issue of
$4,000 Communist prisoners who
say they will resist repatriation
to Communist soil.
One Last Obstacle.
What to do about captured
Communist prisoners who refuse
repatriation is the last major
obstacle to an armistice. The
Reds have demanded them back.
The U. N. refuses to repatriate
any one forcibly. The truce
talks collapsed last October on
that note.
Communist China'S Premier
Chou En-lai, late last month pro-
posed immediate exchange of
those prisoners willing to return
home. The others, he said,
should be turned over to a
neutral country.
The United Nations has sug-
gested Switzerland as the neutral
country. The U. N. proposal
given the Reds Thursday said
the prisoners in dispute should
be kept in Korea under custody
Of the neutral state. After a
period of so days in which to
determine the attitude of the
prisoners the neutral state
would arrange "for peaceable
disposition of those remaining
in its custody"
Harrison Gives Warning.
The U. N. plan was outlined
in a letter Gen. Harrison sent
to 1t. Gen. Nam II, senior Red
delegate, accepting the Red re-
quest that full armistice talks
be resusmed.
zen. harrison coupled his pro-
poSal with a warning to the
Communists that unless the
meetings indicated agreement
within a reasonable time" the
U. N. would again suspend the
talks.
Both sides were ready to be-
gin the exchange of the disabled.
Three conveys of allied pris-
oners have arrived at Kaesong
from prison camps deep in North
Korea and are awaiting the trip
over the last 6 miles to Panmun-
jom and freedom.
Fourth Convoy to Leave.
The Communists said a fourth
convoy of trucks and ambulances
would leave Pyoktong near the
Yaiu River tomorrow and arrive
in Kaesong Tuesday. This con-
voy, like one of the first three,
repeatedly will carry Americans,
British and other U. N. sick
and wounded. The Communist
camp at Pyoktong housed all
these nationalities.
The Communists have said
they would return 100 Ameri-
cans. 20 British, and a group of
Is that includes prisoners from
Turkey, Greece, Colombia, the
Philippines, Australia, South
Africa, the Netherlands and
Canada. The remaining $50 are
South Koreans.
The United Nations command
will begin movement of the first
of about $500 Communist pris-
oners toward Panmunjom Sum-
day. A train carrying 100 Chi
nese and 400 Koreans will leave
Pusan at noon Sunday and is
scheduled to arrive at MunSan
before dawn Monday.
The prisoners will travel from
MunSan to Panmunjom in am
balances.
At Freedom Village near Mum
san, where American and other
allied sick and wounded will be
brought first from Panmunjom.
wooden floors we're installed in
all tents in the processing center
and in the 45th Mobile Army
Surgical Hospital.
Across the top Of each Of the
long processing tents signs were
which said: welcome
Gate to Freedom"
High-ranking officers contin-
ued to visit the allied base camp
and Freedom Village as excite
ment over the impending ex-
change mounted.
Among visitors today were |
Vice Admiral J. j. (Jocko) Clark, |
of the 7th Fleet, !
and Marine Brig. Gen. Edger |
Berger. assistant commander of !