To Li Kenong [2]
(July 14, 1951)
Kenong, and inform Kim and Peng [3]:
(1) The telegram of 15:10 on July 14 [4] has been received. I agree with your revised wording (from the 13th character to the 170th character), but after the 13th character, the sentence "In order to clear up misunderstandings and disputes on some minor issues and enable the peace negotiations to proceed smoothly" must still be added, followed by "We agree to your proposed...". (2) Beijing will still broadcast at 8 p.m., your station may pay attention and listen. (3) Please ask Pyongyang to broadcast with the same revision.

Mao Zedong
July 14, 6 p.m.

[1] Ridgway, then Commander-in-Chief of the "United Nations Command," who replaced MacArthur in directing the war of aggression against Korea.
[2] Li Kenong, then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central People's Government.
[3] Kim refers to Kim Il Sung, Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Peng refers to Peng Dehuai, Commander and Political Commissar of the Chinese People's Volunteers.
[4] Refers to Li Kenong's telegram of 15:10 on July 14, 1951, to Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, and Peng Dehuai. The telegram stated: We have carefully studied Ridgway's message and found that there are differences in the size and meaning of the neutral zone and the conference site area. Regarding the neutral zone, he demands that both sides cease hostile actions; as for the conference site area, all armed personnel must be excluded. Rather than modifying his proposal, it would be more proactive for us to accept it in its entirety. Therefore, we suggest the following change to the 13th to 170th characters of the reply: "...We agree to your proposal to designate the Kaesong area as a neutral zone during the period of the conference, with both sides ceasing all hostile activities and completely excluding armed personnel from the conference site area and the passageways leading from your and our delegations to the conference site area. As for the size of this conference site area and other related specific issues, we suggest..." We await your reply before issuing the response to Ridgway.