"I Am Still Prepared..."

It sounded like just another Communist accusation. A U.N. night-flying plane, said the Reds, had "made machine-gunning" over the Kaesong neutral zone. Five U.N. colonels (four U.S., one South Korean) were dispatched to investigate. This time, the Red charge proved to be true.

The U.N. officers were shown bullet holes in houses and bullet marks on masonry less than a mile from the conference house (in which no truce talks had been held since Aug. 22). Some flattened .50-cal. slugs were lying on the ground; the Reds did not claim that any person had been hit. In addition to this evidence, U.N. officers had other proof -- the record kept by their own radar operators. At about the time the Communists said the attack occurred, U.N. radar had spotted a plane over Kaesong. Investigation showed that it was a U.S. B-26 of the 3rd Bomb Group. The pilot's story: he had fired on Kaesong, mistaking it for another target 20 miles away.

Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy sent a formal apology to North Korea's Nam Il: "The United Nations Command regrets this violation of the agreed neutrality . . . Appropriate disciplinary action is being initiated . . ."

The incident, while it will probably have little influence on the situation, weakens the U.N.'s position, which is based on General Ridgway's heated assertion that the past Red charges were phony. The candor with which the U.N. admitted the plane incident testified to its sincerity; but some people could now argue that if one violation happened--by mistake--perhaps some of the other incidents the Reds cited had happened in the same way. The Peking radio crowed triumphantly, indicated that the Communists would resume the talks if the U.N. pleaded guilty to all the other charges, too.

Meanwhile, the Reds officially rejected General Ridgway's proposal that the site of the cease-fire talks be changed. They branded it an attempt to "run away from your side's responsibility for violation of the Kaesong neutrality agreement."

This week, in a message to the Communist leaders, Ridgway firmly repeated that, after thorough investigation, all the Red charges except the one apologized for had been found false. He added: "I again emphasize my concern in the achievement of a just and honorable military armistice ... I am still prepared to order my liaison officers to a meeting ... to discuss . . . resumption of the armistice talks."

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