The signing of the armistice must be postponed
(June 21, 1953)
Comrade Peng Dehuai:[II]
Your telegram of 22:00, June 20, has been received.[2] The signing of the armistice must be postponed. When it is appropriate to postpone it to will depend on how the situation develops before a decision can be made. It is absolutely necessary to annihilate over ten thousand more puppet troops.
Mao Zedong
June 21
[1]
Peng Dehuai, then serving as Commander and Political Commissar of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.
[2]
Refers to Peng Dehuai’s telegram to Mao Zedong at 22:00 on June 20, 1953. The telegram stated: According to the current situation, it seems more favorable to postpone the signing of the armistice until the end of the month. To deepen the contradictions within the enemy camp, it is proposed to strike Syngman Rhee’s puppet troops again and annihilate an additional 15,000 puppet soldiers.