Issues Concerning the Candidates for Representatives of Various Committees [1]
(July 20, 1953)

Comrade Li Kenong, and inform Commander Peng [2]:

Your telegram of June 19, as well as the two telegrams of June 16 and July 18, have all been noted. We generally agree with the opinions expressed in your telegrams. The Chinese representatives on the Armistice Commission shall be Comrades Ding Guochuan and Chai Chengwen [3]. Comrade Du Ping [4] shall be responsible for matters relating to the internal coordination between the Chinese representatives on the Armistice Commission and the Volunteer Army Headquarters [5].

The three Red Cross teams—southern, northern, and central—as well as the personnel from the Korean-Chinese side participating in the work of these teams, shall all undergo concentrated joint training. Since they will need to work alongside enemy personnel and travel to South Korea, their training must be intensified. After their visit work is completed, they shall all join the interpretation work teams to make use of their experience. Documents such as the letter to the prisoners of war to be brought by the Red Cross teams and the interpretation teams will be reviewed and conveyed by separate telegram.

Regarding the Chinese representative on the Prisoner-of-War Repatriation Commission, we agree to appoint Wang Jian [1] to this position. All matters concerning the repatriation of puppet prisoners of war shall be handled by the Korean People’s Army. Therefore, we should dispatch capable personnel to transfer all puppet prisoners of war currently in our hands to the Korean side and provide the Korean side with a detailed account of all relevant information about these puppet prisoners. As for foreign prisoners of war, they shall be handled uniformly by the Volunteer Army. This proposal must obtain the consent of Comrade Nam Il [2]. The issue of foreign prisoners of war unwilling to be repatriated shall be decided after Huang Yuan [3] returns to Beijing to report.

After the armistice, the Korean-Chinese leadership core shall not be organized in a form that unifies the two parties, as this would hinder the independent organizational systems of each fraternal party. After the armistice, the Negotiation Delegation shall be transformed into the Armistice Delegation. Internally, the Korean and Chinese sides shall each maintain delegations of equal numbers. In accordance with the agreement reached with Premier Kim [4] at the beginning of the negotiations, Comrade Li Kenong shall assume overall responsibility, and all issues shall be resolved through collective consultation among the representatives of both the Korean and Chinese sides. The Chinese representatives shall be Comrades Li Kenong, Du Ping, and Qiao Guanhua [5]. If you agree with this proposal, we shall then seek the opinion of Premier Kim.

If the issue of Chinese personnel assigned to the five ports [6] has not yet been resolved, we hope you will promptly consult directly with the Volunteer Army Headquarters to arrange their deployment, so as to avoid delays. Matters concerning supply, administration, airfields, and railways are already being handled by the General Logistics Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Air Force Headquarters, and the Joint Transport Command [7], and they have already established direct contact with you.

In addition, India has raised two issues with us:
(1) India plans to send a team of three to four people to visit the "United Nations Command" Headquarters, the Korean People’s Army Headquarters, and the Volunteer Army Headquarters via Tokyo after the armistice, to observe the actual situation and facilitate preparatory work. We consider it inconvenient to refuse this request, but we propose to allow them to visit only the Pyongyang Headquarters, with the Volunteer Army Headquarters sending personnel to participate, without permitting them to visit the Volunteer Army Headquarters.
(2) The United States has indicated to India that only 2,500 Indian troops are needed. We believe we can propose 3,000. We hope you will study these two issues with Comrade Nam Il and telegraph your opinions.

Mao Zedong
July 20, 1953

--- Notes

[1] This is a telegram from Mao Zedong to Li Kenong, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central People’s Government and head of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Delegation to the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[2] Commander Peng refers to Peng Dehuai, then Commander and Political Commissar of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.
[3] Ding Guochuan, then a Chinese People’s Volunteer Army negotiator in the Korean Armistice Negotiations. Chai Chengwen, then a Chinese People’s Volunteer Army negotiator in the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[4] Du Ping, then Deputy Director of the Political Department of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army, involved in the leadership work of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Delegation to the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[5] Volunteer Army Headquarters, i.e., the Headquarters of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.


[1] Wang Jian, then Director of the Office of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Delegation to the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[2] Nam Il, then Chief Negotiator of the Korean-Chinese side in the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[3] Huang Yuan, then Director of the Enemy Forces Work Department of the General Political Department of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government.
[4] Premier Kim refers to Kim Il Sung, then Premier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
[5] Qiao Guanhua, then involved in the leadership work of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Delegation to the Korean Armistice Negotiations.
[6] The five ports are located in Sinuiju, Manpo, Sinanju, Chongjin, and Hungnam in Korea.
[7] Air Force Headquarters, i.e., the Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Joint Transport Command, i.e., the Sino-Korean Joint Railway Transport Command.