Talk Resumed

Day after day, in liaison meetings at Panmunjom, the Reds pressed for a full-scale resumption of the armistice talks, broken off by the U.N. last autumn. Said one U.N. officer: "I've never seen the Communists so eager." The U.N. bided its time while Mark Clark's headquarters in Tokyo checked strategy with Washington. Finally Lieut. General William K. Harrison, the senior U.N. delegate and weary veteran of past Communist filibusters, sent a letter to North Korea's Nam Il, agreeing once more to talk truce.

Since the Communists say that they are now willing to turn over to neutral custody any war prisoners unwilling to accept repatriation, General Harrison suggested that Switzerland would qualify nicely as such a neutral. Harrison also proposed that: 1) to save the trouble and expense of transportation, the neutral custodian could take over its charges in Korea, and 2) a period of 60 days might be allowed to the neutral custodian for assessing the wishes of the prisoners it holds. Harrison's letter closed with a clear warning that another bout of Red stalling and filibustering would be answered by another U.N. walkout: "The United Nations Command is of the opinion that unless meetings of full delegations indicate that an acceptable agreement will be reached in a reasonable time, it will be advisable to recess meetings again." Talks are scheduled to resume this Saturday.

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