The Korean War: The Untold Truth

Chapter 109 The Secret Path of Peace Talks (3)
first confrontation
Air Force Colonel Andrew Kinney led a UNC liaison team to Kaesong by helicopter on July 7, and Communist propaganda began immediately.A dusty town, a cluster of houses in the lee of a hilly country, it has long been a resting place for travelers on the main road from Seoul to the north.Although Kaesong was supposed to be a neutral zone for armistice negotiations, Communist soldiers armed with machine guns surrounded the unarmed Americans and waved their weapons at Communist reporters and photographers.For the Communist Party, the United Nations Army came to beg for peace, and the Communist Party must do everything possible to take advantage of this "fact".

Ginny thought he could wrap up the errand immediately and return to Seoul for further instructions, but decided to stay.He won the next round without knowing it.The communists led their party to a teahouse where the meeting took place, a richly decorated bungalow with a curved tile roof and elaborately carved bonsai trees in the front yard.The Communists had brought large wooden conference tables inside, and heavily armed soldiers stood outside, seemingly defending the place.The once elegant building is now bullet-riddled and several outhouses have been bombed, but it's as comfortable a building as Kaesong has to offer.The Americans walked straight into the teahouse and sat in the rows facing south before the Communists ushered them in.An embarrassing silence ensued, as the communists gesticulated that no, no, they had to sit in another row of chairs facing north. "We're comfortable sitting here," Ginny said, refusing to move.He later learned that according to the tradition of Eastern peace talks, the victorious country should face south, and the defeated country should face north.

There was no sign of enthusiasm in the opening conversation between the two sides.Kinney handed over the list of representatives to the United Nations and demanded the same from the Communists.After this, the communists rested for three hours, apparently studying the UN list and selecting officers of equivalent rank.

During the break, Kinney declined offers of food, drink, and cigarettes from the Communist Party, not wishing to accept any insignificant gifts under the watchful eye of Communist Party cameras and reporters.The UN troops ate the lunch they brought with them.

The Communist side announced after the break that their delegation would be led by Lieutenant General Nam Il of the North Korean People's Army.They proposed that the first meeting be held two days later, on July 7, also in Kaesong, while guaranteeing the opening of the road from Panmunjom.Panmunjom was a village on the front line, 10 miles to the east.Vehicles of the United Nations Army must be marked with a white flag, and the Communist Party will ensure that the personnel of the United Nations Army can enter and exit the negotiation area safely.All members of the UNC side, except delegates, are required to wear armbands for identification.

When Kinney left Kaesong, he was deeply disturbed that the negotiations would take place in Communist-controlled areas.The circumstances of that day convinced him that the Communist Party intended to make a big publicity about it.Kinney shares his concerns with Ridgway and Joey.But the deal was done, and the UN troops would attend as scheduled, although Kinney's warnings made the delegation aware of what they were about to face.

Thus, neither Joey nor anyone else was surprised when a Communist "escort" vehicle encountered Admiral Joey's convoy at Panmunjom on the morning of July 7.Three cars full of Communist officers in uniform turned around in front of Joy's convoy, leading it to Kaesong.Communist Party photographers lined the road, while escorting officers waved in victory.This time, the Communist Party did not allow representatives of the United Nations Army to enter through the north gate of the teahouse, thus solving the seating problem.By the time Joey and the others entered the room, the Communists were already seated in positions of psychological advantage.The Communists also retaliated in an unsophisticated way for Admiral Joy's earlier defiance.When Joey took a seat at the table, he almost sank into nothing.The chair given to him by the Communist Party was much lower than ordinary chairs.General Nan Ri sat opposite, a full foot taller than the admiral. "Nan Ri was smoking cigarette after cigarette, and couldn't help beaming with joy as he looked down at me, a disfigured fellow," Joy later wrote.Before Joy got a high chair, "communist photographers had taken a lot of film".According to Joy, such practices in isolation seem childish and ridiculous, "but it should be remembered that a large number of such maneuvers can produce unparalleled publicity effects".

There are worse things.Armed communist guards paced back and forth around the teahouse, closely following every UN soldier who came out of the house.During a break, a guard pointed a submachine gun at Joey and "yelled and threatened."A representative of the Communist Party triumphantly explained to Colonel Kinney that he had received the medal for "killing 40 Americans."

Joey knew that he was facing negotiators with political and military expertise.American intelligence agencies scrutinized the list of Communist negotiators and provided Joy with a great deal about them.Nam Il, considered the negotiating leader, was merely born in North Korea, his family fleeing Siberia to escape Japanese occupation.Nanri was a citizen of the Soviet Union and spent most of his time in the Soviet Union.As a Soviet captain, he fought the Germans at Stalingrad; when Warsaw was captured, he served as chief of staff of a Soviet division.Upon his return to North Korea, Nam Il served as Minister of Education and turned the Ministry into a key propaganda arm of the government. In 1950, Nanil participated in the Ministry of National Defense's plan to attack the South. (In August 1953, Nam Il returned to politics and served as foreign minister.) Nam Il's excessive drinking had amazed Russian and Eastern European military advisers in the North Korean army.Polish Colonel Pavel Monet, who worked in North Korea (and later defected to the West), gave Nam Il three dozen "extra large" bottles of vodka as a gift, and Nam Il sold them all in less than a month, and the more the better .

Nan Ri has strong self-control, and he rarely shows his emotions.There are occasional scowling looks on his face, but the most frequent expression is one of feigned surprise.Joey quickly learns that despite his high title, Nan Ri is subordinate to China's General Xie Fang.Xie Fang's background is obscure, and he is believed to have studied at military academies in Japan and Moscow, and played a major role in the 1936 "kidnapping" of Chiang Kai-shek by the Chinese Communist Party.Xie Fang's later experience showed that the Soviet Union believed him to be trustworthy. From 1940 to 1945, Xie Fang served the Japanese government in the occupied areas of China.After peace was achieved, he soon became the head of propaganda in the northeastern provinces of China.This rate of promotion was unusual among Soviet intelligence agencies.A person who has served the "opposite side", even though directly ordered, is usually considered to have been tainted, purged, or entrusted with vain duties once the task is completed.But in 1951, the assigned position of the solution party was of unparalleled importance to Soviet foreign policy.

Xie Fang's thin, angular body and thick and short hair made Joey very impressed and even uneasy.He remembered Shakespeare's verse: "There Cassius is yellow and thin... Such a fellow is a danger." He never consulted his colleagues when he spoke, and if he had something to say, he cut it straight to the point, not limited to propaganda words.Joy believes that Xie Fang is the decision-maker in the red delegation.

Another member of the Communist delegation who spoke was North Korean General Lee Sang-jo, who fought in China against the Nationalists and returned to Pyongyang in 1945 with the first group of pro-Soviet officers.Li Wu is short and unhygienic, but he has one outstanding feature: he can tolerate flies crawling on his face without driving them away. "He obviously thinks it shows that he has steely self-control," Joy said. "In my opinion, he's just used to the flies."

Joy's first priority was to formally present the UN Army's negotiating position, even if it was only to meet political exigencies.He was well aware of the admonition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that negotiations should only be interrupted if forced to.Furious at Communist arrogance, he wished to beckon his fellow officers out of the teahouse, but having no other choice, he complied with instructions and issued a lengthy statement on the UN Army's position at the start of negotiations.

Joy said frankly that the representatives of the United Nations Army intend to discuss only military issues related to North Korea and not discuss any other political and economic issues.As far as the UN forces are concerned, the fighting will continue until a truce is agreed and the Armistice Commission begins its work.He then presented a nine-point agenda drafted by UNC representatives:

1.accept the agenda;
2.Guaranteeing the location and authority of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the prisoner-of-war camps;

3.Negotiations are limited to military issues related to North Korea;

4.Ensure the cessation of hostilities and armed forces operations in North Korea on the condition that they do not resume hostilities and armed forces operations in North Korea;
5.Reached an agreement on the establishment of a demilitarized zone across North Korea;
6.The composition, powers and functions of a Military Armistice Commission;

7.Reached an agreement in principle on military monitoring team inspections in North Korea;

8.Composition and functions of the Monitoring Team;

9.Arrangements concerning prisoners of war.

General Nam Il made a counter-proposal to restore the status quo in June 1950, with both sides withdrawing to the 6th parallel and all "foreign" troops leaving Korea.He wants an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a 20-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone along the [-]th Parallel.After this, the prisoners should be exchanged, and peace is at hand.

In Joy's view, the Communist Party's proposal was too simplistic.He wants to present a formal agenda, listing contentious issues one by one, for discussion and resolution.Withdrawing "foreign" troops from North Korea is a political issue because the United States cannot abolish its right to retain armed forces in a friendly country upon invitation.Accepting the communist terms would recreate the dynamics of the North Korean invasion a year ago and would tip the military balance in favor of the Chinese.There is no evidence in the "conditions" they put forward that China's "volunteer army" will also withdraw.

Another meeting on July 7 was similarly inconclusive.This time, the main debate was about Red Cross visits to prisoner-of-war camps.Nam Il immediately called the issue "political" and accused the UN Army of raising it. (Even the U.S. Army's official history of these negotiations agrees with Nam Il: "As long as the U.N. Army delegation insists on keeping non-military issues out, the Communist side has a point.")
Joey even mishandled Li Qiwei's instructions.Ridgway asked him to "bring it up as a matter" of freedom of movement in the conference area, and interviews by Western journalists - it was full of Communist guards wielding guns and knives - otherwise the United Nations would no longer conduct negotiation.Unfortunately, after reading this statement, Joey added another sentence: He hoped that "the (Communist Party) will give an answer as soon as possible tomorrow morning..." This was not Ridgway's original intention, as he will soon write in a As told to Joey in the sharp telegram.Ridgway's "only thought" was that Joey read the statement and handed it over to the Communist Party.The statement was a "straightforward and unambiguous" declaration of intent that he wanted the party to act on, not comment on.Communist propagandists were making a fuss about the negotiations, and the Western press was lashing out at Ridgway for being excluded from Kaesong.That night, Ridgway reprimanded Joey and warned him that he would either do as he was told or fail.Then, as always, Ridgway told Joey that he should start over and let the past go.As Ridgway wrote in his diary that night, the matter is now "overwhelming," but he did "point out that we may use the same tactics in the future, so I think it is essential that we fully understand each other." ".

The next day, Joey tries to remedy the situation.When Nam Il refused to agree to accept Western reporters, Joy told him categorically that the UN Army delegation would either come back with the reporters or not come again.This position puts a heavy burden on the Communist side: they either accept Western journalists, or they accept a postponement of negotiations.But the Communist Party pushed the representatives of the United Nations Army into a corner.When the reporters showed up at Panmunjom as part of a convoy of UN troops, the Communists refused to let their vehicles pass.Joey kept his word and ordered the entire convoy to turn around and return.Over the next two days, liaison officials from both sides negotiated before the Communists backed down.Western journalists will be allowed interviews, and armed soldiers will be barred from a five-mile-wide ring around Kaesong and the road linking the talks to Panmunjom.

Still, the whole attitude of the Communists made Washington doubt their willingness to negotiate seriously. On July 7, Dean Rusk briefed the Allied ambassadors and said that it was clear that "the other side was going to extract propaganda capital from something ... that we were not going to pay attention to."The Communist Party has "tethered itself to a fixed position from which it cannot retreat" by "negotiating with propaganda and broadcasting".According to Rusk, this shows that "they went into the talks with no concept of negotiation".U.S. intelligence indicated a "continuous massing of enemy forces at the front."

To Joy's chagrin, solving the problem of the reporter's trip to Kaesong doesn't mean progress on other issues.It soon became apparent that the Communists were looking for an agenda with an outcome "favorable to their basic goals," while the Americans saw the agenda as a list of issues to be discussed.Joey made an analogy. He said that when Americans meet to arrange a baseball game, the following procedures may be followed: (1) the location of the game to be played; (2) the time when the game will start; (3) the selection of umpires .The agenda proposed by the Communist Party would be: (1) Shanghai must agree to the match; (2) it will be at night; (3) Chinese officials will serve as referees.

The haggling over the agenda lasted 10 sessions, chugging along “like an old ox pulling a broken cart,” Joy said.Every speech of Nanil has to be translated into English and Chinese, and every speech of Joey has to be translated into Chinese and Korean.But the Communist Party gradually backed down. On July 7, they agreed not to mention the 16th Parallel specifically on the agenda, and proposed a more general wording: "The establishment of a military demarcation line between the two parties to establish a demilitarized zone as the basic conditions." Joy reported that the tone of the talks had changed and that the Communist Party had been ordered to narrow differences on the agenda. Explaining the development to Allied ambassadors on July 7, Dean Rusk said that the Communists viewed the Kaesong negotiations as a permanent peace solution, especially with regard to the withdrawal of foreign troops.According to Rusk, the issue "is not an appropriate topic to discuss in military armistice negotiations."He rejected the Communist Party's implication that it was up to the North Koreans to solve their own problems.If this is the case, once the United Nations forces leave, the war will definitely resume immediately.

(End of this chapter)