KOREAN WAR PRISONERS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27010, 9 April 1953, Page 9

KOREAN WAR PRISONERS

Exchange Of Sick And Wounded (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) TOKYO, April 8. notified t h Or^H nis t negotiators at: Panmunjon today 600 rick and ™ * eS^ at ey W ° uld hand °ver about 600 sick and wounded prisoners of war, including 150 non-Koreans, a United Nations spokesman reported ference* 5 tho . s *^ ate P? e . nt followed the third day’s conthe exchange of sirk IlalE ? n groups meeting to discuss that the Alfils told ih r Wounded Prisoners of war. He added 700 Chinese Ld tIOO WoU ’ d hand ° V?r Allied liaison Paai ? u^ on Quoted the chief of the the number the cXS* 31 dm « aI John Danie! , as saying that the number »f muni ® t ® offered was small compared with the number of prisoners the Communists said they held. Admiral Daniel said that the Communists did not breakSrZared 15 ° ” On “ Koreans the - v said they were

Admiral Daniel told the Communists: “The figures of sick and wounded United Nations troops you say you will repatriate seem incredibly small in view of the total number of captured personnel you previously indicated you have in custody. “Accordingly I request that you have ine figures reviewed and a more liberal interpretation made of your definition of sick and wounded. “I reserve the right to make further comment on these figures later.” The Communist leader, General Lee, replied: “We have offered the figures of sick and injured prisoners only after we checked the matter in detail. Accordingly I cannot find any reason w hy the figures are incredibly small.” Admiral Daniel told the correspondents that the Communists indicated that they were preparing a breakdown into nationalities as fast as they could of the Allied prisoners to be returned.

The Communists agreed to set up lower staff groups to discuss administrative details of the exchange. The Allies hold more than 132,000 Koreans and Chinese while the Communists have admitted holding between 12,000 and 13.000 Allied prisonwhom about 3000 are Americans.) 1000 are Commonwealth troops, and the others are South Koreans. Under the proposed exchange the Allies would be returning about 5 per cent, of the Communist prisoners of war they held, while the Communists would be returning about 4 per cent, of Allied prisoners they hold. “No Stumbling Block” Admiral Daniel later told correspondents that he saw no stumbling block to the agreement on the exchange of prisoners. “I have no reason to believe at the present time that the Communists are not acting in good faith,” he said. Asked if the number of sick and wounded the Communists are willing to hand over had changed his attitude towards the discussions, he said the figure was controversial, but his private opinion was that “we will get more.” He said that no mention was made ?J zr^n 1 g talks of a resumption of the plenary session to discuss the overall prisoner exchange. Tlie liaison officers adjourned until today, but the staff officers’ group remained in session working on the administrative details of the exchange arrangements.