WAR IN KOREA IN STRANGE PHASE DIPLOMATIC MOVES IMPORTANT

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 November 1950, Page 5

WAR IN KOREA IN STRANGE PHASE DIPLOMATIC MOVES IMPORTANT

Guerrilla Activity On The Fronts; Communists Withdrawing

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Recd. 11pm).—The North Korean battlefront in the past 24 hours has been comparatively quiet, with United Nations patrols failing to contact the main Communist force across the Changchon River bridgehead, but guerrilla fighting flared up today along the main supply routes from Pusan to Seuol. The South Korean 3rd Corps reported engagements near Taegu, Waegwan and Taejon, through which the British 29th Brigade Group is now moving from Pusan to its concentration area, about 12 miles south of Seoul. The South Koreans claim that their troops, near Waegwan, killed 71 North Korean guerrillas, and captured three. Near Taegu they killed four and captured one, and near Taejon captured 21. Other guerrilla fighting is reported in North Korea, well in the rear of the United Nations foremost troops. North Korean and Chinese Communist troops throughout North Korea continued their unexplained withdrawal today for the 4th consecutive day, under heavy attacks from United Nations air forces. Patrols of American, British, Commonwealth and South Korean forces penetrated some miles into Communist territory on the north-west front without making contact with the enemy. The Communists withdrew also in the north-east before the United States Marines’ drive towards the Changjin reservoir. The only determined resistance came from a Communist force which apparently is trying to prevent a junction of the American 2nd Division troops striking from the east from the Sunchon area with the United States 10th Corps on the east coast. A patrol of the American 24th Division struck 41 miles into enemy territory on the west sector of the Chonchon River bridgehead without contacting Communists.

British Commonwealth Brigade patrols went forward 3000 yards in the same general area without encountering resistance. A spokesman for the United States 9th Corps, in the Chongchon River area, said the Communists, particularly Chinese, were shifting their main strength to the east. He said American air observers were keeping close watch on this movement. A United States Bth Army spokesman said in Seoul that Chinese Communist troops might be avoiding a fight pending high-level diplomatic moves which would affect the course of the Korean war. "It is a very puzzling situation” he said. "The war is in a strange phase, in which diplomatic moves perhaps are as important as military moves.” MORE MODERATE LANGUAGE The Peking radio broadcast today used more moderate language than has been the case previously in commenting on the Korean war. The broadcast said it had been 'reasonable for the Chinese to believe that the United States intended to invade Manchuria. It said the Americans first had said they were not going to cross the 38th parallel. Then they said they were not going to cross a certain line across the Korean Peninsula. Then they were going all the way to the Manchurian border. The broadcast added: "The propaganda machine was turned on to get everyone to accept that it was perfectly satisfactory to have lhe Americans, bristling with arms and warlike talk, threatening the Chinese people from the north while they continued to arm Chian Kai-shek in the east and shifted their forces to develop a new' Korean situation in Vietnam." *A Russian-type jet fighter, the second in two days, was shot down in the Sinuiju area today.