Lot 55D128: Black Book, Tab 85: Telegram
The Commander in Chief, Far East (Ridgway) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
C–59378. For info CINCUNC Adv Msg HNC 558.
“1. At afternoon session of meeting on agenda item nbr 3,1 the Communists presented the following proposal:
“(1) All Armed Forces under the control of either side, including regular and irregular units and armed personnel of the Ground, Naval and Air Forces, shall cease all hostilities within 24 hours after the signing of the armistice agreement.
“(2) All Armed Forces under the control of either side shall be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone within 72 hours after the signing of the armistice agreement. Except for such Armed Forces of a police nature as may be specifically agreed to by both sides, no Armed Forces of either side shall thereafter enter the demilitarized zone; nor shall the Armed Forces of either side commit any acts of armed force against the demilitarized zone. Either side shall manage in accordance with the stipulation of the armistice agreement the administrative affairs of that portion of the demilitarized zone lying on its side of the military demarcation line.
“(3) All Armed Forces, Ground, Naval and Air, under the control of either side shall be withdrawn within 5 days after the signing of the armistice agreement from the rear and the coastal islands and waters of the other side. If they are not withdrawn within the stated time limit, and there is no mutually agreed and valid reason for delaying the withdrawal, the other side shall have the right to take [Page 1333] all necessary action against such armed personnel for the maintenance of security and order.
“(4) In order to insure the stability of the military armistice so as to facilitate the holding by both sides of a political conference of a higher level, both sides shall undertake not to introduce into Korea any military units, military personnel, war equipment and ammunition after the signing of the armistice agreement. However, if either side needs to rotate its military personnel in Korea, it shall make request to and acquire the approval of the Military Armistice Commission. The number of such military personnel to be rotated shall not exceed 5,000 monthly. Any such rotation shall be subject to on-the-spot supervision by the supervisory organ of neutral nations and shall be carried out at the ports of entry in the rear agreed upon by both sides.
“(5) Either side shall designate an equal number of members to form a Military Armistice Commission to be responsible for supervising the implementation of the armistice agreement and for settling through negotiation any violation of the armistice agreement. This function of supervision and inspection shall be carried out in accordance with the following 2 provisions:
- “a. Within the demilitarized zone, The Military Armistice Commission and the joint teams directly dispatched by it shall be responsible;
- “b. Outside the demilitarized zone, at the ports of entry in the rear agreed upon by both sides and at the places where violations of the armistice agreement have occurred, the supervisory organ of representatives of neutral nations entrusted by The Military Armistice Commission shall be responsible.
“(6) Both sides agree to invite neutral nations which have not participated in the Korean War to send, upon their consent, an equal number of representatives respectively to form a supervisory organ; a Supervisory Commission. This supervisory organ, the Supervisory Commission, entrusted by The Military Armistice Commission, shall be responsible for dispatching inspection teams of neutral nations over mutually agreed lines of communications to carry out the function of supervising the stipulation of paragraph 4 at such ports of entry in the rear as agreed upon by both sides, and, when violations of the armistice agreement have occurred outside the demilitarized zone, to conduct necessary inspection at such places where violations have occurred, and shall report to The Military Armistice Commission on the result of supervision and inspection. Both sides shall accord these inspection teams of neutral nations full convenience in performing the above stated functions.
[Page 1334]“2. UNC sub-delegation requested recess of 30 minutes to study Communist proposal. Further details on return of sub-delegation to base camp. Signed Joy”
- The report on the morning session is printed in telegram C–59379, infra.↩