Active Preparations Before the Armistice
The September Offensive Operations Are Absolutely Necessary
(July 26, 1951)

Comrade Dehuai:[1]

Your telegram of July 24[2] has been received. Whether the enemy truly wants to cease hostilities and negotiate peace can be determined after the Kaesong Conference[3] has been held a few more times. Before the armistice agreement is signed and the war has truly stopped, it is absolutely necessary for our army to actively prepare for the September offensive operations.

Mao Zedong
July 26

[1] Dehuai, i.e., Peng Dehuai, then serving as Commander and Political Commissar of the Chinese People's Volunteers.
[2] Refers to Peng Dehuai's July 24, 1951 telegram to Mao Zedong. The telegram stated: U.S. imperialism is in a state of contradiction. If we achieve a few more victorious battles, fight south of the 38th Parallel, then withdraw back to the 38th Parallel as the boundary, conduct peace talks, and gradually withdraw foreign troops from Korea on a proportional basis, persisting with reason and restraint, through complex struggle, the possibility of securing peace exists. If peace cannot be achieved through the aforementioned methods, then continue fighting, and ultimately winning the war is certain. From an overall perspective, the benefits of peace are many, but we are not afraid to fight either. Our army aims to complete preparations for a campaign counteroffensive by mid-August; if the enemy does not attack, it will be launched in September. It would be most advantageous to wait for the enemy to attack, then we can strike relying on our positions.
[3] The Kaesong Conference refers to the Korean Armistice Negotiation Conference that began on July 10, 1951 in Kaesong, Korea.