August 22, 1953
Premier Kim:
I am hereby sending you the draft of the open letter to our captured personnel. [It is] planned that after mid-September, representatives of our side responsible for explanation work will bring it to the locations where the prisoners of war are held and issue it to our captured personnel who are not to be directly repatriated.

The content of the draft open letter, to be issued in the names of Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army Kim Il Sung and Commander of the Chinese People’s Volunteers Peng Dehuai to the captured personnel of the Korean-Chinese side who are not to be directly repatriated, is as follows:

"Comrades of the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers who have been captured: In the negotiations with the opposing side, the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers, in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, have consistently maintained that after the armistice you have the right to return to your respective homelands and live peaceful lives with your families. We also issued a statement on April 6, 1952, fully welcoming you back to the embrace of the motherland. Now that the Korean armistice has been realized, the time for you to return to the motherland has arrived. According to the provisions of the 'Terms of Reference of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission,' no one is permitted to threaten you or obstruct your desire to return to the motherland. We deeply understand your longing for the motherland and the misfortunes you have suffered after being captured. Some of you, during your detention, were forced to have words tattooed on your arms, wrote certain documents, joined certain organizations, held positions in the enemy prisoner-of-war camps, or engaged in other similar acts. We hold that none of these were done of your own free will, and you yourselves should not be held responsible for them. We hereby solemnly and responsibly declare: All captured personnel of our side, regardless of any of the above-mentioned acts they may have committed in the enemy prisoner-of-war camps, shall not have their past actions held against them after returning to the motherland. All returning personnel shall be reunited with their families, participate in the construction of the motherland, and live peaceful lives. We hereby send representatives to express our solicitude to you, inform you of matters related to your return to the motherland, and welcome you back to the motherland. We, together with all the people of Korea and China, are concerned for you and earnestly hope for your return."

If you agree with this draft, please reply by telegram immediately so that it can be printed and prepared for use.

Mao Zedong
August 22, 1953