Movement at kaesong
What looked like becoming a deadlock in the cease-fire nego- tiations at Kaesong has been converted into a hope of progress. The first Communist proposal for a withdrawal of all foreign troops from Korea has been replaced by a •more moderate sug- gestion. There was, of course, never the slightest chance that the question of complete withdrawal could be settled at this stage. The withdrawal of all foreign troops from Korea does not auto- ' matically create an even balance between North and South, or between the Communist Powers and the United Nations. It would create at this stage a situation heavily weighted in favour of the Communists, who would be left standing'on an open land frontier while the United Nations forces withdrew across the sea. The plain fact—and both sides know it—is that the question of total withdrawal has a political significance, which far exceeds the narrow competence of military men engaged merely in draw- ing up an agenda for armistice talks. Nevertheless, the larger question must be discussed sooner or later, and if the latest Com- munist proposals are concerned with the arrangements for con- sidering it in due course on a higher plane, then obviously those proposals are worth examining. If, on the other hand, they are not concerned with .broad issues at all, but merely with an agenda item on a limited military withdrawal from the present line, they are still worth considering. In fact, the official United Nations communiqué went further, and said that they were sufficiently interesting to deserve study, and this, combined with the fact that both sides have for the first time found it worth while to exchange written statements of their present attitude, makes the situation look rather more hopeful than it did a.week ago.
