Lot 55D128: Black Book, Tab 63: Telegram
The Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (Ridgway) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
flash
HNC–067. Subject is United Nations military and civilian personnel now in hands of Communists. Item number 2 on our agenda presented at the first meeting had for its simple purpose to produce a list of the locations of Communist prisoner of war camps and to secure Communist agreement to visits to those camps by representatives of the International Red Cross. It was my feeling that much time might elapse before the actual discussions of arrangements for the exchange of prisoners could begin, and much more before exchange itself could start. In the meantime the situation of these prisoners might be materially ameliorated if the International Red Cross were granted permission to visit them.
The Communist representatives have appeared both sensitive and obstructive with respect to this item. Their replies to our questions on this subject are summarized as follows:
“The Communist delegation agrees that the question of prisoners of war is a military question, but they do not agree that the question of sending International Red Cross representatives to inspect prisoner of war camps is a military question. Therefore, they state they cannot agree to the inclusion on the agenda of our second item. The Communist delegation mentioned the declaration which the North Korean Government made on 13 July 1950, and added that they had ‘observed international law as to the treatment of prisoners of war’”.
I am instructing the United Nations Command delegation to make one more effort to secure the information and agreement referred to above and if both fail, at least to get both our requests into the record. I will report results.
Meanwhile it seems to me that Communist refusal to report the location of these camps in order that International Red Cross representatives might visit them and Communist replies to our questions on the subject, offer an excellent basis for renewed efforts in the United Nations to bring pressure to bear to compel compliance with the Geneva Convention. Either this subject must be faced as a military [Page 667] subject and therefore within the purview of these armistice negotiations, or they become proper subjects for further United Nations action.