CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1952/01/06

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02008407
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: May 24, 2019
• Document Release Date: May 30, 2019
• Publication Date: January 6, 1952

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SEC s. INFORMATION
6 January 1952
Copy No. 47
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN CLAS3.
I DECLASSIFIED
CLASS, CHANGED TO: 13 S
NEXT REVIEW DATE: *et
AUTH HRaDiV
DATEI/Arri
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
GENERAL
I. Britain wants general conference on Korea after armistice (page 3).
FAR EAST
2. Stalin's message appeals to discontented Japanese elements (page 3).
3. Comment on Communist policy concerning South Korean prisoners
(page 4).
4. US Consul supports Papal Nuncio's pessimistic viewpoint on Indochina
(page 4).
5. American aid program in Burma reported in jeopardy (page 5).
EASTERN EUROPE
6. Weak propaganda since fliers' release indicates Hungarian indecision
(page 6).
WESTERN EUROPE
7. Comment on Communist efforts to delay West German rearmament
(page 6).
LATIN AMERICA
8. Possible change of government in Panama (page 7).
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GENERAL
1. Britain wants general conference on Korea after armistice:
Britain believes strongly that the powers 3.3(h)(2)
directly concerned in the Korean hostilities should
hold a conference to work out a political settle-
ment if an armistice is arranged, according to
e chief us ra ian delegate to the UN General Assembly. These powers
would include the United States, Britain, Communist China, the Soviet Union,
France, India, Australia, and perhaps Thailand and Turkey.
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Comment: This is the first information on recent
British thinking regarding the procedure for achieving a Korean political
settlement, which the United Kingdom has long maintained must precede any
general stabilization of the Far Eastern situation.
FAR EAST
2. Stalin's message appeals to discontented Japanese elements:
Stalin's message to the Japanese people caught 3.3(h)(2)
both government and public by complete surprise,
according to the US Political Adviser in Tokyo.
Japanese non-Communist editorial comment
ranged from utter skepticism to the influential Yomiuri's interpretation that
Japan should not fear this new peace offensive and should conclude a bi-
lateral peace with the Soviet union.
The Political Adviser believes that those
business and industrial groups interested in trade with the Soviet Union and
Communist China will be heartened, as will left-wing elements opposed to
the peace and security treaties, rearmament and the stationing of US forces
In japan. He concludes that while most Japanese will be inclined to examine
carefully any Soviet offers of friendship, the message has been well-timed
to coincide with the growing uneasiness over the future US position in Japan.
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Comment: The San Francisco treaty encourages
Japan to conclude a bilateral peace treaty with any state which adhered to the UN
declaration of 1 January 1942 and which is at war with Japan, on the same or
substantially the same terms.
Yomiuri has the third largest newspaper cir-
culation in Japan and is generally said to have an independent viewpoint.
3. Comment on Communist policy concerning South Korean prisoners:
Two authoritative Communist spokesmen recently
explained the great discrepancy between the 11,000 South Korean soldiers
listed by the Communists as prisoners of war and the 90,000 that the UN lists
as missing in action. Wilfred Burchett, correspondent for a French Commu-
nist newspaper, stated that the Communists released "almost all South
Koreans when captured, allowing them to return to their homes or follow their
own inclinations."
The Communist cease-fire delegate, General Lee
Sang Cho, elaborated this theme by noting: "There is not a single man to be
found on our side who has been forced into the war. True, in our ranks there
are those personnel from your side who . . revolted and came over to our
side. . We have never classified them as prisoners of war and we will
never turn over these patriots of Korea to you � � � � "
Intelligence, from recaptured South Koreans
indicates that South Korean military personnel 3.3(h)(2)
integrated into the North Korean Army are termed "liberated privates" and
were forcibly inducted. Enemy preparation of detailed "liberated privates"
lists, however, suggests a possible future Communist concession on this
point.
4. US Consul supports Papal Nuncio's pessimistic viewpoint on Indochina:
The US Consul in Hanoi concurs in the views
recently expressed by the Papal Nuncio to the
Philippines regarding the inadequacy of the
French effort to win the sympathy of the
Vietnamese.
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In commenting on the Nuncio's report of the
lack of mutual trust between French and US officials and the stubborn French
belief that the US desires a controlling interest in Indochina, the Consul
states that the Nuncio's opinions are a "fair assessment."
Comment: The Nuncio is reported to have
studied the situation quite carefully during a visit to Indochina in December
and ,upon his return to the Philippines, expressed himself as "gravely per-
turbed" by the weaknesses of the Vietnam Government, by French distrust of
American motives, and by the failure of the French to promise full inde-
pendence to Vietnam.
50 American aid program in Burma reported in jeopardy,:
3.3(h)(2)
The US Embassy in Rangoon reports that Burmese
officials are balking at the requirements in the
Battle and Mutual Security Acts which must be
satisfied before Burma receives further US
aFsistance. The Burmese apparently regard these requirements as contrary
to their concept of a "neutral" foreign policy and as an impairment of their
sovereignty. They also fear antagonizing Communist China and the Soviet
Union.
The Embassy considers the situation "critical"
and believes the United States may have to suspend aid if the Burmese do not
themselves terminate the existing bilateral ECA agreement.
Comment: The Socialist-dominated Burmese
Government has always been sensitive to Communist criticism and there have
been recent indications of a growing aversion to ECA -- a prime target of
Communist propaganda. On the other hand, the rapidly developing aid
program in Burma has been well received and appreciated by the Burmese
people and was expected to further Burmese cooperation with the West.
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EASTERN EUROPE
6, Weak propaganda since fliers' release indicates Hungarian indecision:
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According to the US Legation in Budapest, weak
propaganda coverage on the released American
fliers reflects a continued lack of Hungarian or
Soviet policy directives and marks a propaganda
10\1/ point. The unusual reticence of the press since the fliers' release on
28 December suggests that editors are waiting for new government action or
an official view of the situation following the retaliatory action of the United
States.
Comment: The vacillations of Foreign Ministry
officials during negotiations for the fliers' release and the sharp disparity
between the charges of espionage and the actual trial for border violation
tend to confirm that an over-all policy for the case has not been developed.
WESTERN EUROPE
7. Comment on Communist efforts to delay West German rearmament:
The Communists are intensifying their efforts
to delay West German rearmament and integration into Western Europe and
are enjoying some success in using West Germans to promote these
objectives. Pastor Niemoeller is now in Moscow to "strengthqn the cause
of peace through church channels" and to discuss the release of German war
prisoners. If he were to secure the release of prisoners of war now
classified as "war criminals" or contract employees, his views in favor of
rapprochement would become more popular in West Germany, where they
now have little support.
The East German Government has announced a
draft all-German election law which requires the approval of East and West
Germans in consultation. The Communists thus may hope to entice the
West Germans into protracted discussions and draw attention away from
negotiations with the West and delay integration.
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There is no indication, however, that Moscow
is contemplating an eleventh-hour genuine offer for the democratic unifi-
cation of Germany.
LATIN AMERICA
8. possible change of government in Panama: 3.3(h)(2)
ex-President
Harmodio Arias of Panama has alerted his
newspaper for a possible early change of govern-
ment. Neither President Arosemena nor the
police chief appears to have definite knowledge that a coup is scheduled, but
the police have been alerted?
Comment: The bitter political campaign between
the forces of former police EfireTireTnon and the nationalist, Communist-aided
forces of Harmodio Arias in connection with the presidential elections next
May has intensified chronic Panamanian instability. A well-organized
uprising to preclude the possibility of Remon's election would have urban
support and, despite Remon's ties with the police, could be successful.
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