[Baking Typewriter] Another War After the Korean Armistice: The Persuasion Operation for Prisoners Refusing Repatriation

Memoir of Indian Army General Thimayya,
Who Served as Mediator
in the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission

Recently, some North Korean soldiers who fought in the Ukraine war and were captured as prisoners of war have refused repatriation to their home country and expressed a desire to go to South Korea, drawing new attention to the possibility. In fact, there have been numerous similar cases throughout world history. During the Korean War in the 1950s, there were also prisoners of war who refused to return to their home countries, and how to handle them became another form of ideological conflict after the armistice.

Amid such conflicts, there was a military officer who focused on the essence of 'mediation' and shed light on the rights of prisoners of war. That person was Indian Army General K. S. Thimayya, who served as the chairman of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNSC), formed at Jangdanbeol near Panmunjom after the Korean War armistice in 1953.

Chairman Thimayya conducted a persuasion operation over 180 days targeting more than 23,000 prisoners of war on both sides who refused repatriation. "Hind Nagar: 180 Days of the Jangdanbeol Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission's Persuasion Operation" is a memoir that captures his anguish and deliberation throughout this process.

According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war were to be repatriated to their home countries. However, the United Nations side, considering the unprecedented scale and unique circumstances, reached an agreement with the Communist side to reconfirm the prisoners’ free will on humanitarian grounds. The commission was composed of representatives from five countries: India, Switzerland and Sweden from the UN side, and Czechoslovakia and Poland from the Communist bloc. While the commission formally advocated for humanitarianism, in reality it became a site of intense ideological confrontation. The activities of the commission involved approximately 30,000 international personnel, including staff and military administrators dispatched from about ten countries. The Jangdanbeol area became, quite literally, a battlefield of ideologies.

In this context, Chairman Thimayya constantly pondered how abstract concepts such as 'compromise', 'agreement', and 'co-governance' could function in reality, and what conditions and processes were necessary. Throughout the memoir, he appears more as a practical sociologist than a soldier.

He accurately recognized that both sides were engaged in an ideological competition over the number of prisoners of war. Chairman Thimayya recalled, "Setting aside right and wrong, given the circumstances and emotions at the time, it was inevitable that both sides would remain hostile toward each other," and added, "If we had acted as judges on the moral and legal issues of both sides, we could have continued to provoke conflict. Therefore, we had to maintain neutrality carefully and persistently, expecting both sides to find their own solutions."

However, reality was not easy. Both camps clung to their predetermined answers and did not yield an inch. Chairman Thimayya made the continued existence of the commission and the ongoing negotiations between the two sides his top priorities. He realized that the warring countries were already exhausted by the conflict. He analyzed, "Modern ideological wars drag on until it becomes clear that trying to achieve one's goals through violence is meaningless," and "Once this saturation point is reached, the warring countries, even if they do not compromise on ideological principles, become prepared to engage in dialogue to some extent in order to avoid a resumption of violence."

For several months afterward, Chairman Thimayya continued the arduous work of mediation. Not only the two camps, but also the prisoners of war who refused repatriation themselves emerged as an important variable. He deeply explored the reasons why the prisoners refused to return. The number of prisoners became a 'trophy' of ideological superiority for both sides, used as evidence that their own system was superior.

However, Chairman Thimayya treated the prisoners not as mere numbers, but as individuals. He engaged in constant dialogue, considering their level of education, the realities they faced, and their possible choices. He appeared less as an armed commander and more as a statesman contemplating the era. His anguish and commitment to mediation still offer valuable insights for today’s international conflicts.

In the end, the mediation operation was closer to failure than success. Of the more than 23,000 prisoners who refused repatriation, only 3,500 were persuaded by the commission, and among them, only 150 changed their minds and decided to return to their home countries. Ultimately, 88 prisoners who steadfastly refused repatriation and chose India as a third country were brought back on an Indian Navy vessel by Chairman Thimayya.

Nevertheless, this case is regarded as the only historical example where the confrontation between liberal democracy and communism was mediated without armed conflict. Furthermore, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 'neutralism' at the time led to mediation in the Indochina War in 1954, which later became the foundation for India’s non-alignment policy.

Rayoon Do, honorary professor at Konyang University and translator of this book, commented, "This memoir vividly depicts the blind confrontation between the two sides, dramatically describing the interests of North Korean and South Korean prisoners, as well as those of other neutral repatriation commission countries. It has global historical significance in restoring the lost persuasion operations and procedures for prisoners refusing repatriation in the history of the Korean War, offering a third-party perspective on the interpretation of the Korean War, and tracing the origins of Nehru's neutralism."

Hind Nagar: 180 Days of the Jangdanbeol Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission's Persuasion Operation | Written by K. S. Thimayya | Translated by Rayoon Do | Seonin | 444 pages | 35,000 KRW

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