Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

VETINAVAL AIDE) 451 09 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE DECLASSIFIED WASHINGTON E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 December 29, 1952 By DEB NLT, Date 9-11-85 TOP SECRET SEGURITY INFORMATTON SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS KOREA Ambassador Briggs in Pusan questions the wisdom of UN Command proposals to try prisoners of war who are guilty of offenses while interned on the grounds that such trials might be turned into a Communist propaganda bonanza. He also doubts whether even the threat of capital punishment would effectively deter professional agi- tators from fomenting trouble. In this connection, Embassy Tokyo informs us an Army intelligence study will be completed shortly showing direction of prisoner of war camp agitation net- work by North Korean General Nam-Il at the same time he was participating in the armistice negotiations. Ambassador Briggs suggests that the whole subject of the prisoners be restudied, not only with respect to prevailing camp conditions and the problem of maintaining discipline, but in relation to our political strategy and political objectives. Our envoy to Korea believes that if we estimate prospects of obtaining an armistice are now remote, consideration might be given to a separate solution for the anti- Communist prisoners not desiring repatriation, or of moving the prisoners out of Korea altogether and relocating them in areas where control conditions are less difficult. At the same time we have told our representa- - tives in London and at the UN that if the British raise again the question of information on prisoner of war incidents they be told that information received in Washington on this subject has al- ways been made available promptly to the UK Embassy here. Embassy London states, however, the Foreign Office in antici- pation of further Parliamentary questions is planning to raise the following questions with us: 1) Why are prisoners kept in such large groups as to enable them to defy the guards by sheer force of numbers? 2) Why have camps been constructed on terrain where tear gas is useless? 3) Why are camps built on hilltops from which prisoners are able to attack the guards? TOP SECRET SECURITY INF ORMATION