As things stand now, the likelihood of a protracted Korean War is steadily increasing.


In the past, our assessments of the Korean war situation allowed for two possibilities: either a swift resolution or a prolonged conflict. By “swift resolution,” we meant that the Korean People’s Army would press its advantage, driving the U.S. forces and the remnants of Syngman Rhee’s puppet army [2] into the sea.


However, the United States has since reinforced its military presence in Korea, thereby increasing the prospects for a drawn-out war.

The Korean people are capable of sustaining such a protracted campaign; they have mobilized over one million personnel, and their armed forces currently number roughly 100,000, with further reinforcements expected.

The Koreans have fought with remarkable courage: whenever U.S. aircraft bombed a bridge, they would immediately set about repairing it. At first, they repaired bridges at night after daytime bombings; later, they worked to fix them as soon as each strike occurred. When enemy planes appeared, the Koreans would briefly take cover before resuming their work without hesitation.

From the outset, U.S. imperialism had assumed that aerial bombardment alone would intimidate the Korean people, only to find itself decisively rebuffed.

This fact underscores that, having endured long years of Japanese colonial rule and exploitation, the Korean people, once they rose up, would never again tolerate imperialist aggression.

Under Japan’s prolonged subjugation, they had become profoundly resolute.

Other peoples of the East, too, have been tempered by imperialist oppression into steadfast resolve. The Chinese nation is precisely such a resolute, fighting people.

Although our own struggle has from time to time encountered difficulties, we have never relied on divine intervention for salvation; rather, it is through our own hands that we have surmounted those challenges.

Today, while the prospect of a protracted Korean War has grown, ultimate victory will nonetheless belong to the Korean people, for the sympathy of peace-loving, democratic forces worldwide for them continues to mount unabated.

Following World War II, when U.S. imperialism aided Chiang Kai-shek in launching the Chinese civil war, international sympathy was firmly aligned with the Chinese people, and this support only intensified as the conflict progressed.

The Chinese Revolution possessed a truly global character. It was the first in the East to educate the world’s peoples, and the Korean War now serves as a second such educational experience. People everywhere are reflecting upon these developments.

Though a swift conclusion would be preferable, a prolonged war offers even greater opportunities to enlighten both the Korean people and the international community.

U.S. imperialism today faces numerous difficulties—internal strife and external disunity—and possesses but one significant military advantage: sheer numerical superiority. Conversely, it suffers from three critical weaknesses, amounting to “one strength and three shortcomings.”

First, its front lines are excessively extended, stretching from Berlin, Germany, to Korea; second, its logistical supply routes are extraordinarily long, spanning two vast oceans—the Atlantic and the Pacific; and third, its combat effectiveness is markedly inferior.

During World War II, Adolf Hitler’s [3] front ran from the Baltic to the Black Sea, while Hideki Tojo’s [4] stretched from Northeast China to Southeast Asia—both considerably shorter than the U.S. line from Berlin to Korea.

Moreover, Hitler’s supply lines from Berlin to Moscow were likewise far more manageable than those crossing two oceans.

As for combat power, the U.S. military falls short of its German and Japanese counterparts—a fact well known not only to Cheng Dongguo [5] but also to our Eighth Route Army.

An adversary should never be feared; its posturing and bluster are merely intended to intimidate.

That said, U.S. imperialism might yet resort to reckless action, undertaking virtually any course of conduct. Should it do so, unpreparedness would be disastrous; preparedness, however, equips us to meet the challenge effectively.

Such action could well entail a third world war waged with nuclear weapons over an extended period—longer than either of the previous two global conflicts.

We Chinese are no strangers to warfare. While we naturally prefer to avoid war, if it becomes unavoidable, we must be ready to confront it.

You may pursue your path; I shall follow mine. If you employ nuclear weapons, I will respond with hand grenades, exploiting your vulnerabilities and keeping pace with your moves until final defeat.

When war breaks out—not in small skirmishes but on a grand scale; not briefly but over a sustained duration; not conventionally but with nuclear arms—we must be fully prepared.

Should you nevertheless choose to escalate, we will match your actions step for step.

We must remain ever vigilant against potential U.S. aggression.

All aspects of our ongoing endeavors—military, political, economic, cultural, and others—should be deliberated and decided with the understanding that the enemy stands poised before us.

Accordingly, the national budget for 1951 ought likewise to be formulated.

Printed from the verbatim record preserved in the Central Archives.

Notes [1] This is Mao Zedong’s address at the Ninth Session of the Central People’s Government Committee.

[2] Syngman Rhee (1875–1965) served as President of South Korea at the time.

[3] Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), leader of German fascism and chief of the Nazi Party, became Chancellor in 1933 with the backing of Germany’s monopoly bourgeoisie. Upon President Hindenburg’s death the following year, he declared himself head of state and instituted fascist rule. In September 1939, he dispatched German forces to invade Poland, igniting World War II; in June 1941, he launched a massive offensive against the Soviet Union. He committed suicide in April 1945 as Soviet troops liberated Berlin.

[4] Hideki Tojo (1884–1948), a Japanese war criminal, served as Prime Minister from 1941 to 1944. During his tenure, he initiated the Pacific War, expanding Japan’s aggressive campaigns from China to the Pacific and Southeast Asia. After Japan’s surrender, he was arrested and, in 1948, sentenced to death by hanging by the Far Eastern Military Tribunal.

[5] Cheng Dongguo (1903–1991), a native of Shimen County, Hunan Province, served in the latter stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan as Deputy Commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in India and concurrently as Commander of the New First Army. In the final phase of the Liberation War, he held the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Nationalist government’s Northeast Pacification Headquarters. On October 19, 1948, he led his units in laying down their arms in Changchun. Following the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as a member of the National Defense Commission and a standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.