Arms Inspection In Korea

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27986, 5 June 1956, Page 10

Arms Inspection In Korea

The announcement that the United Nations command in Korea will expel the Communist members of the Neutral Nations Commission from South Korea should cause little surprise. The ineffectiveness! of arms inspection in Korea has ! been all too apparent for more than' two years. In 1954, the Swedishl member of the commission reported formally to the United Nations political committee that “ for many “ months ” no control had been carried out in North Korea. As there had been no improvement, the' Swedes recommended last year the; abolition of the commission on the| grounds that it served no useful ( purpose. On their respective sides of the armistice line North Korean i and South Korean armies have] built up their forces, while in the 1 , I north, Chinese, and in the south, | i United Nations divisions have been J withdrawn, though a few remain. Of chief concern to the United Nations command has been the steady building up of the North Korean air force. At the time of the armistice there was virtually no( North Korean air force. It is now, ' said to have about 600 aircraft,l ■ including 400 jets, operating from about 30 airstrips built or reconditioned since the armistice. Radar ! interception and other intelligence I devices have clearly established 'flagrant violations of the armistice | that the Swedish and Swiss memi bers of the Neutral Nations Commis- ! sion have not been permitted to i see. Nothing at present indicates that the Communists intend to use i their greatly increased military I potential in Korea to break the (armistice. Indeed, there have been more belligerent threats from the south than from the north. Generally they have arisen from fear of the growing North Korean air strength. It is certainly disturbing to know that if the Communists should elect to resume fighting they would do so from a position of much greater

relative advantage than they possessed at the time of the armistice. The expulsion from South Korea of the Communist members of the Neutral Nations Commission is unlikely to have any effect on military plans in North Korea. To comply with the United Nations terms for the return of Communist observers to South Korea, the Communists would have to reduce their air force to the pre-armistice establishment. The United Nations action may be something more than a protest against the armistice breaches in North Korea. At a time when I world-wide disarmament and inspection procedures are being discussed. | the experience in Korea should have ’ some useful lessons, as well as a warning, for the West. In any major disarmament programme the West is bound to seek more effective guarantees than those written into the Korea armistice agreement.