End of a Farce

On the day the Korean armistice was signed 19 months ago, U.S. reconnaissance air crews carefully photographed the much-bombed North Korean airfields to document an important fact: no Red jets were based south of the Yalu. Since then Russian-made jets have swarmed into North Korean bases. The truce terms specifically forbid all such buildups, but by last week this and other Red violations had become so flagrant that the U.S. and the United Nations Command decided to scrap the futile pretense of truce inspection and supervision.

Out of Control. During the armistice talks, one lengthy argument revolved around how to enforce the truce terms that banned any military buildups. Replacements were allowed but not reinforcements, so that neither side could swell its strength by a single additional plane, man or gun. To make sure that the terms were observed, the U.N. suggested that neutral truce teams have the right to inspect any place in Korea at any time by land or air. The Communists, however, refused to permit free inspection of their territory. They compromised by permitting truce teams to operate in five specified check points. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission is made up of Swiss, Swedes, Poles and Czechs. The first two nations make a basic policy of neutralism; the second two are outright Communist puppets. On the truce commission, Polish and Czech members help sabotage the neutrals' efforts to enforce the truce terms.

To bypass the railway check point at Sinuiju, on the Manchurian border, the Communists built a new spur line two miles away, over which illegal arms roll unhindered from Manchuria. At the Manpo check point on the Yalu, neutral inspectors see nothing but empty freight cars returning to Manchuria--while loaded trains cross into North Korea over a nearby bridge barred to the truce teams.

The commission gets U.N. reports faithfully listing all troops and materiel moving in and out of South Korea, as required by the armistice terms, while the Reds file reports containing virtually no information. In ten months, during which the U.N. reported using 194,301,524 bullets for normal firing practice, the Communists reported that their million-man army in Korea fired not a single bullet.

Out of Commission? Last year even the neutral Swiss and Swedes grew indignant enough to criticize the Red tactics, which, they reported, made truce inspection in North Korea "completely illusory." An official Swiss-Swedish report said: "All efforts [of] the Swedish and Swiss members of the Inspections Teams . . . have been constantly and persistently frustrated." In contrast, "the U.N. Command side . . . threw itself open to full control."

By now the Reds have amassed alarming new strength in North Korea. According to U.S. intelligence, the Communists have built fortifications, increased their artillery firepower 30%, laid out 40 airfields, and moved in more than 400 aircraft, including at least 150 MIG-15 jets --all in violation of the armistice terms. Truce inspection, instead of enforcing the armistice, had simply screened the steady Red buildup.

Last January, for the second time, the weary Swiss and Swedes recommended cutting down or, preferably, shutting up the commission. Last week, in formal notes to Switzerland and Sweden, Red China accused "bellicose elements" of opposing a system that "has made positive contributions to the peace of Korea." But the U.S. State Department, after consulting the other nations of the U.N. Command, agreed that the commission should be abolished. Reason: "Obstructionist tactics on the Communist side have made [its work] impossible." With the one-sided farce of truce enforcement ended, the U.N. command will be free to match the Red buildup, when and as necessary.

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