Inspectors, Go Home

The farce of neutral "inspection" of divided Korea came to an end last week. It had always been one-sided. Teams of truce inspectors--Swedes and Swiss appointed by the U.N., Poles and Czechs named by the Reds--freely ranged South Korea, making sure that the 1953 armistice restrictions were meticulously observed. But in North Korea, where a buildup of men and materiel has gone on in defiance of the armistice, Communist team members obstructed inspection wherever violations occurred.

Irked by this state of affairs, the Swiss and Swedes privately suggested dissolution of the inspection commission. At last the U.N. command agreed. Early one morning last week, 16 neutral inspection members stationed in South Korea's three main ports of entry--Kunsan, Inchon and Pusan--were told to pack up their belongings. Without incident, two transport planes and 18 helicopters flew them to the demilitarized zone at Panmunjom. The U.N. will continue to report South Korean military imports to the commission, but jubilant South Koreans, who regard the Czech and Polish inspectors as spies, were happy to be rid of them.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.