Sincerity in Korea
Some of the subtler questions of Chinese philosophy are said to be concerned with the meaning of the word " sincerity." Thd negotiators at Kaesong have shown that the fringe of such questions may be touched even within the grim code of what id known as " military courtesy." Last Sunday General Ridgway accused the Communists of violating the neutrality of th6 Kaesong area by allowing a company of armed infantry into it. The Communists admitted es accusation. The General required, Butto promise that it would not happen again. They promised. But General Ridgway was not satisfied. He asked for a further undertaking that the guarantees of neutralisation of the Kaesong area will be completely complied with in future. In other words be was not only concerned with what the Communists said, but also with the way they said it. Was the General going in for too much refinement? Quite possibly he was not. There has been something much too glib about the way in which the North Koreans and Chinese have apologised for their violations (which they airily refer to as minor) of the neutrality zone, and then proceeded to do the same thing again. The sincerity of disputants Who claim to have abandoned the old-fashioned and bourgeois Idea of " face " and at the same time assiduously. build up a 'myth that the United Nations forces have taken a beating and are suing for quarter is imperfect to say the least. In these Oircumstances—circumstances in which there is no assurance that The Communists mean what they say—it is hardly surprising that 'talks have been suspended. It is still less surprising that the United Nations have refused to undertake to abandon their present defensive positions north of the 38th parallel, and it is most unlikely that theyever will abandon them until the sincerity of the North Korean and Chinese negotiators is assured. That nay take time. But since the alternative is a return to the arbitrament of war it will probably be worth waiting for.
