4 MARCH 2000, Page 31

The wrong Bum

From Mr Rennie Airth Sir: I doubt the existence of Matthew Par- ris's General Lee Bhum Suk (Another voice, 19 February). It's an unlikely name for any Vietnamese. He may be confusing the gentleman with Mr Lee Bum Suk, head of the South Korean delegation to the repatriation talks with the Japanese Red Cross in Geneva in the late Fifties and early Sixties. Regrettably, his name did lead to some sniggering among the press corps, and to bad-tempered queries from subedi- tors who thought their legs were being pulled. Only the Times found a satisfactory solution to the problem. He was invariably referred to in its columns as Mr B.S. Lee. Rennie Airth

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