Skip to content

Results:

1 - 5 of 5

Documents

May 4, 1953

Letter, General Duk Shin Choi to General William K. Harrison, Jr. on Civilian Internees

From April 20 to May 3 1953, Operation Little Switch allowed the exchange of the sick and wounded prisoners of wars between the United Nations, North Korea, and China. In this letter, Major General Choi informs General Harrison that the communist have failed to return hundreds of U.N. POWs because of their broad interpretation of the agreement. General Choi provides a series of steps to improve this agreement but most importantly he urges that the terms “civilian internees” and “displaced person” should be clarified in the Draft Armistice Agreement.

June 6, 1953

Statement by President Syngman Rhee

President Syngman Rhee strongly opposed the peace talks between the United Nations, the North Korea People’s Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army. Rhee proposed that he would accept this armistice only if the United States signed a Mutual Defense Pact and to continue to build the ROK forces after the war.

April 1951

Letter, President Syngman Rhee to General Matthew Ridgway

Syngman Rhee asks General Ridgway to expel a British reporter, Edward Hewat, for allegedly biased reporting on the "Shin-won-myun Massacre."

May 3, 1951

Letter, President Syngman Rhee to General Coulter

President Rhee writes to General Coulter to address the issue of prisoners of war. After stating that releasing POWs would “demoralize” Korean soldiers, Rhee expresses his concern for POWs forced to fight in the North’s side. Rhee states that “democratic-accepting” POWs can be released only after they pass a series of tests proving them to be anti-communist. Once released, these POWs can “carry their stories of fair treatment under a democratic United Nations.”

April 25, 1951

Letter, General James A. Van Fleet to UN Ground Forces in Korea

General Van Fleet encourages the UN Ground Forces in Korea to continue their fight against “armed communism aggression.”