§ 12. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the present prospects of peace in Korea; and what advances towards peace have been made there recently.
§ Mr. EdenI regret that I have no progress to report since my statements of 21st and 28th January. The Chinese and North Koreans have made no move to accept any of the United Nations' proposals for an armistice. In the meanwhile, Her Majesty's Government welcome the initiative taken by General Mark Clark in his statement of 21st February in which he asked the Commander of the North Korean and Chinese Communist forces in Korea whether they are prepared to proceed with the repatriation of seriously sick and wounded prisoners of war. Her Majesty's Government would warmly welcome any such development.
§ Mr. HughesIs it not a fact that the outstanding questions are mainly of a juridical and justiciable character, and, if that is so, why not refer them to some judicial tribunal to solve?
§ Mr. EdenThe hon. and learned Gentleman will be aware that several proposals have been made to reach agreement on this difficult question of the prisoners of war, the most important being the Indian proposal, which received overwhelming support at the United Nations. I cannot believe that if the North Koreans and the Russians wanted an armistice they could not accept that proposal.