Evening star., 1953-07-20
Truce Teams
Meet 10 Prepare
Early Signing
Stuff Officers Work
On Final Details;
ROKs Still Gloomy
By the Associated Press

FANM MUNJOM, July ZO. -
Teams of Allied and Commu-
mist off1cerS-including for the
first time the men who would
oversee cease e-fire-Worked in
nine secret sessions today on
the final details of a Korean
armistice.
Two staff officer sessions were
set for 10 am. Tuesday g pm.
Monday, EDIT.
The Reds, meanwhile, put the
finishing touches on a large hut
to be used for signing the his
toric document which would
end the three years of fighting.
There was no official indi-
cation just when the armistice
would be signed. but some OBJ
servers said it could be within
a week. Fighting would end IL
hours after the signing.
A month-long deadlock in the
negotiations was broken with
a Communist announcement
Sunday that the Reds were
ready to prepare for the sign
ing.
Session Unexpected.
Three United States members
of the Military Armistice Com
mission flew here unexpectedly
for the first time and met for l
hour so minutes with Communist
members of the commission.
The commission. composed of
top officers from the opposing
armies. would control the buffer
zone between the two forces.
The Red and allied commission
members discussed suggested
arrangements which they (the
Reds) will consider and prob
ably come back with their pro-
posal," said Navy Capt. B. M.
Coleman of Mclean, Va, one of
the United States members. An
other meeting was planned, but
no time was given.
The speeded tempo of Mondays
sessions-running from 10 am.
to sos pm. (7:05 am. EST
heightened optimism for an early
signing.
Total time spent by five diff
ferent teams, including inter-
prefers and liaison officers, was
7 hours and a. minutes.
Await Call for Signing.
The main truce delegations
presumably are awaiting a call
from the lower level staff Off
GERS to set date for the signing.
Both sides quickenea the pace
toward a truce signing in the
wake of the sudden Communist
announcement Sunday that they
were ready to go ahead with final
preparations in return for allied
assurance that South Korea
would abide by a cease fire.
But South Korean Foreign
Minister Pyun Yung Tai limited
more opposition from Syngman
Rhee's government might be in
the wind with a statement that
the Communist agreement con-
tained many traps"
He said it showed the Reds
intend to take "all South Korea
by subversive activity and by
liquidating the army which we
have built so painstakingly and
with so much expense"
An unnamed Republic of Ko-
rea spokesman said allied assur-
ances meant the U. N. had lost
the war"
Other Developments Listed.
In other developments:
l. The Peiping radio an
nounced that Czechoslovakian
and Polish delegates who would
serve on a four-nation armi-
stice supervisory commission
arrived in the Red China capital.
The Swedish and Swiss delegates
already are in Tokyo.
2. The Reds sent 200 North
Korean and Chinese troops to
resume work on the signing
building" at Panmunjom. Con-
struction was suspended a month
after Mr.. Rhee freed $1,000 anti
Red North Korean prisoners
from allied camps. Communist
Correspondent Alan Wilmington
of the London Daily Worker said
the building should be finished
Thursday, but the signing prob
ably would not be that early.
3. Gen. Mark Clark, U. N. Far
East commander in Tokyo,
hailed the Red go-ahead as
most encouraging" and said it
should lead to an early sign
ing" However, he said some
details remained to be worked
out.
4. Peiping Radio, the voice of
Red China, said the Communist
agreement to go ahead with
truce signing preparations came
after "resolute efforts by the
(Red) Korean and. Chinese side
in the past one month"
5. One group of Allied and
(See TRUCE, Page A-4.)