Lot 55D128: Black Book, Tab 28
Press Release Issued by the United Nations Command in Korea at Noon on October 22, 19511
Agreements were signed this morning by UNC and Communist Liaison Officers, establishing conditions under which the military Armistice Conference, halted by the Communists since 22 August can be resumed:
Ratification of the draft agreement by the delegates of both sides now remains before discussion gets under way again on item two of the agenda which deals with the establishment of a demarcation line.
“The UNC delegation has followed closely the negotiations by the Liaison Officers and have [sic] approved the steps taken to reach both the agreement and the mutual understandings.”
“These mutual understandings, although not part of the basic agreement, and therefore not subject to ratification by the delegations themselves, are nevertheless viewed as being of equal force and equally binding.”
“The date and time for resumption of the preliminary sessions is expected to be fixed shortly.”
Agreements between Liaison Officers on matters concerning resumption of conference by the delegations are:
1. The specific site at which the conference of the delegations will be resumed in the vicinity of Panmunjom.
2. The conference site area is a circular area having a radius of 1,000 yards centered on the conference site.
3. No hostile acts of any kind shall be carried out by any armed forces of either side including all regular and irregular units and armed individuals of the ground, naval and air forces, against the conference site area as defined above.
4. Except for the Military Police provided for below, no armed personnel of either side shall be permitted in the conference site area. Designated Officers of both sides shall be jointly responsible for the security and the preservation of order within the conference site area. Each side shall provide a military police detachment of two officers and 15 men to assist in the performance of these duties while the delegation parties are present in the conference site area. During the periods when the delegation parties are not present in the conference site area, one officer and five men of the military police from each side will be stationed in the conference site area. The military police shall carry only small arms, namely, pistols, rifles and carbines.
5. Both delegations and their parties shall have free access to, and free movement within the Panmunjom conference site area. The composition of each delegation party shall be as determined by the senior delegate thereof.
[Page 1060]6. Physical facilities and communication and administrative arrangements with respect to the negotiations and the conference site area will be as agreed upon by the Liaison Officers of both sides. The delegation of the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers will be responsible for providing a suitable joint facility for use as a meeting place of the delegations and for the arrangements within the conference room. Except for this installation each delegation will provide its own facilities.
7. All armed forces of both sides, including regular and irregular units and armed individuals of the ground, naval and air forces shall refrain from hostile acts of any kind against the circular area having a radius of three miles centered on the traffic circle at Kaesong, against the camp area of the United Nations Command Delegation contained within a circle having a radius of three miles centered as indicated on the attached map,2 and against the area of 200 meters to either side of the Kaesong-Panmunjom-Munsan road.
8. The date and time for the resumption of the conference of the delegations will be determined by agreement between Liaison Officers of both sides.