N.Z. Kept Fully Informed On Korean Crisis

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1950, Page 8

N.Z. Kept Fully Informed On Korean Crisis

WELLINGTON, Dec. .1 (P.A.).— “Our aims in Korea remain what they were—to do our pari, with others in the' United Nations to endeavour to save and restore a country which has been, and is, the object of aggression, and then to leave that country to settle its own affairs. There is certainly no aim of conquest in Korea or beyond it.” This declaration was made in the House of Representatives this afternoon by the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) just before Ibo session ended. “We face at this time a most serious development in the operations which the United Nations Forces are conducting in Korea,” said Mr Holland. “The large-scale intervention of Chinese forces designed to defeat the action of the United Nations has produced a critical situation.

“How best the territories already recovered from Communist aggression in Korea may be defended from this new onslaught is for the military to decide,” Mr Holland said. "And here let me say that I .see little profit in speculation:; or in comments based on far from complete knowledge of the facts of the military operations except to express our solidarity with the men who are bearing the brunt of the ba I tic. These are from many nations, the United States chiefly, and New Zealanders will soon be with them. There are other dangers to the peace elsewhere, even greater, but our irnmdiate task, the great need of the moment, is firmness and unity: unity with tiie Commonwealth countries participating, unity with the United States, which has done most, unity with all loyal members of the United Nations.

“.Since the present Government took office it has made certain cables and other confidential information available to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Fraser) and the same facilities are available to the ActingLeader of the Opposition (Mr Nash) as were available to Mr Fraser. The information continues to be recewcd and I have been kept informed of the hour by hour developments as they have occurred, especially the communications between Mr Attlee and Mr Truman, as well as from our own ambassador in Washington. (Sir Carl Berendsen). Mr Attlee is to fly to Washington immediately for personal discussions with the President of The United States (Mr Truman.).” Mr Holland said lie would endeavour to keep Mr Nash informed concerning future developments as they happened. He would like to make a fuller statement than he was able to at this stage. The difficulty was in jts preparation, because the information was flowing in every hour or so. He would keep Mr Nash informed of the developments in this very serious crisis a's the information became available.