Meanwhile the deadlock at Panmunjom is matched by a continued
lull in the land fighting. Reports, mostly emanating from Formosa, that a force of some 100,000 Chinese has moved, or is moving, from South China to Korea cannot be either discredited or confirmed; there may well be something in them, though it would probably take the Chinese two or three months to carry out a reinforcement programme On so large a scale. Political dissensions in South Korea, where Syngman Rhee appears to be playing power politics in the Latin American manner, are doing a fundamental disservice to the cause of the United Nations, and may conceivably weaken the will to resist of the numerous South Korean formations in the event of an offensive against the long front of which they hold substantial sectors. The severity with which Mr. Lden on Wednesday condemned the South Korean President's political manoeuvres was needed and deserved. In the cir- cumstances the presence in the theatre of operations of Feld- Marshal Viscount Alexander is reassuring. No one is better qualified to assess the realities of a situation which looks, at the moment, unhopeful from both the political and the military standpoints. His position, his personality and his record will obviously give great weight to any representations he may make. And Mr. Selwyn Lloyd, who is v, ith him, is fully capable of sizing up the political situation accurately.
