PROPOSAL BY ALLIES

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27051, 28 May 1953, Page 9

PROPOSAL BY ALLIES

Leakage of News Deplored

(Rec. 11 p.m.) TOKYO, May 27. Observers in Seoul said today that they believed the Communists might accept the United Nations new proposal to solve the prisoners of war issue, which is the only problem preventing an armistice in the Korean war. South Korean sources revealed the proposal which provides for the prisoners of war problem to be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly in the event of a deadlock lower down the line. United Nations Command and American State Department officials are believed to be concerned at the leakage by South Korean sources. The United Nations proposal, although not confirmed officially, is an open secret in Seoul. It is hoped that the leakage will not jeopardise the chance of a truce. The new plan distinguishes between Chinese and North Korean prisoners who do not wish to go home. The Chinese would be sent to a neutral country and the North Koreans would be released to the custody of a neutral country for a limited period, probably 90 days. Sources in Seoul said that the United Nations was apparently willing to allow the Communist authorities to interview their troops and to present arguments in an effort to persuade them to return home. But it will not countenance any coercion. The same sources said the United Nations plan also proposed that the question of the disposal of any prisoners who still did not want to return home would be handed to a neutral nation commission, which would be urged to settle the matter in limited time. If any prisoners still remained the United Nations General Assembly would have the last word on their fate. This reflects the United States view that no prisoner of war should be reBstriated8 striated against his will, while at ie same time it gives the prisoners a chance to make up their minds. The sources said, however, that they believed the proposal contained a clause providing that the vote at the United Nations General Assembly would be by simple majority. This could probably cause a hitch in getting an agreement. Tension with South Korea The “New York Tidies” in a report from Seoul said today that the uneasy tension between the United Nations Command and the South Korean Government had not eased in any way. If anything, it was aggravated when a source close to President Syngman Rhee let out details of the secret United Nations truce proposals. The South Korean Defence Minister (Mr Shin Taeyung) spent the day touring every South Korean division at the front and an unofficial report said he had been sounding out the possibilities of continuing the war if a truce should be signed. At the same time Dr. Rhee conferred for five hours with his Cabinet, mostly on the peace proposals. The Foreign Minister, Mr Ryun Yung Tae, said later: “We cannot accept any premise that leaves Korea divided and makes North Korea a Chinese colony.”