John W. Staggers writes to Syngman Rhee about truce negotiations for the Korean War and issues he raised regarding Korean prisoners.

When the United States agreed to a truce talk to end the Korea War, President Syngman Rhee disapproved. He opposed the truce and tried to attack these peace proceedings through a serious of events- such as releasing thousands of prisoners of war and creating turmoil for the US government. In order to persuade Rhee to accept the armistice defense, the US dispatches Assistant Secretary of State Walter Robertson to meet with the South Korean president in a series of bargaining discussions. Eventually, under certain conditions and a mutual defense pact with the US, Rhee agrees to the armistice.

Following the ratification of the Armistice Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty, President Rhee conveys that he expects the Armistice to fail because the communists will “undoubtedly” violate it and undermine Korean independence. Rhee wants to renew war to secure victory but most importantly to strengthen the ROK-U.S alliance. Following the memorandum he makes twelve points ranging from topic like Korean rehabilitation to prisoners of war from the Korean War.

In 1953 the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission was created in order to deal with the repatriation of thousands of prisoners of war. For those POWs who wished to not to repatriate, a series of explanations and interviews were held in order to allow them to choose their side in a neutral setting. This is a list of the general provisions of the commission which clarifies and explains who, how, and where these interviews would be held.