it outgunned the 8th Army in artillery pieces by nearly two to one and had swollen to nearly one million men, twice its effective strength on the day the truce talks started," Poats reported.
But Allied control of the air denied the Reds the means to harass U.N. troop movements. "Headquarters and installations beyond Communist artillery range could stay above ground, with a minimum of time and manpower spent in camouflage and anti-aircraft precautions."
On lune 23, 1952, the Allies launched the biggest air strike of the war. Without consulting other U.N. Allies, some five hundred U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine planes hit the hitherto "off-limits" giant Suiho Dam and three other dams, then threw in two hundred more planes the following day, knocking out North Korea's power supply as well as power to industries in Manchuria.
With the U.S. presidential election campaign moving into its final phase before election day on November 4, the Communists attempted to use Panmunjom as a sounding board to push American public opinion into a mass demand for a quick end to the Korean War. Seeing through these tactics, Major General William K. Harrison, who took over as chief U.N. negotiator from Admiral Joy, called a recess on October 8 and told the Reds he would return to the negotiating table when they had a "constructive" proposal to present. The Panmunjom talks entered a six-month recess which continued over New Year and into the spring of 1953.
The recess at Panmunjom was accompanied by a sudden intensification of Communist attacks on U.N. outposts all along the front as the date of the U.S. presidential elections drew near. On October 6, Communist forces attacked White Horse Hill held by the ROK 9th Corps. Bill Shinn reported that the hill changed hands twenty-four times between October 6 and 15. The South Koreans, showing their newfound discipline and power, inflicted heavy losses on the Chinese and denied the enemy control of the hill.
In analyzing the war up to this point, Rud Poats pointed out, "Korea was the battleground but seldom the scene or source of key decisions." The signals sending the North Korean forces over the 38th parallel and Communist China's intervention in 1950 "undoubtedly were called in Moscow." The decision to begin truce talks was made over South Korea's objections by the United States, the United Nations Allies, and the United Nations Secretary General. In the truce talks, "the United States met and negotiated by proxy with its global enemy, Soviet Russia. The military stalemate and the armistice deadlock were reflections of the global balance of titans, afraid of the consequences of bitter war and uncertain of the multiple effects of any settlement short of a clear-cut conference-table victory." If a breakthrough was to develop, Rud said, "a new factor had to enter the picture from outside, a new situation or new assessment of the world situation which justified compromising on the prisoner repatriation issue, plus a new formula for camouflaging the retreat."
The opening came in a compromise formula put forward by India in the United Nations General Assembly in December. A series of other developments occurred outside Korea and, in combination, they created a favorable situation for the break in the stalemate, which came in 1953.
During the U.S. presidential campaign, soldier-statesman Dwight D. Eisenhower had announced that if elected, he would go to Korea for an on-the-site study of the situation. After he defeated Adlai Stevenson, the president-elect did go to Korea on December 3. His party included Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Omar N. Bradley.
Ike's visit brought into sharp focus the change in the fighting qualities of the ROK troops. In 1950 and 1951, they were under-trained and poorly led, Poats said. When the armistice talks began, only three or four ROK divisions of about twelve thousand men each could be regarded as dependable in the face of heavy attack. General Van Fleet made building a ROK army his major concern. President Rhee himself had been calling on the United States for help in building up a twenty-division army.
By the time of Eisenhower's visit, South Korean troops of the original ten-division army were manning nearly two-thirds of the battle line. And by May 1953, the ROK army's strength was to rise "to sixteen divisions and supporting forces, a total of nearly four hundred thousand troops."
Poats said, "The visit confirmed in Eisenhower's mind the wisdom of a decision made during his election campaign to speed up the development of a big ROK Army and thus lighten the bloody burden borne by American troops. By replacing foreign troops on the battle line with South Koreans, the significance of the war in terms of the world balance of military power would be reduced and the West's ability to 'wait out' a favorable armistice would be increased."
When the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force on April 28, the Occupation of Japan came to a formal end, and the Occupation headquarters returned to Japan powers and functions which the SCAP GHQ had exercised for six years and eight months. First among these was the handling of diplomatic relations.
Japan found sovereign diplomacy could be troublesome. On January 18, President Syngman Rhee of South Korea proclaimed the establishment of the Rhee Line fisheries zone, which would be closed to fishing by other nations, including Japan. The Japanese Foreign Office lodged a protest, calling the claim a violation of international law. This led to the first formal meeting with the Republic of Korea on the problem in February, but the talks were suspended in April with both countries refusing to back down.
On August 5, Ambassador Robert D. Murphy arrived in Tokyo to present his credentials to Emperor Hirohito and formally reopen the U.S. Embassy. Six days later, Japan signed a civil aviation treaty with the United States. On September 1, the Bank of Tokyo opened an overseas branch in London, Japan's first overseas foreign exchange office since World War II. Japan's application for membership in the United Nations was vetoed in the Security Council by the Soviet Union, but on May 29 Japan's participation in the International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was approved. On June 24. NYK resumed liner passenger service to Europe, via the Suez Canal.
On January 2, Japan rejoined the International Whaling Convention and sent two fleets to the Antarctic, thus resuming whaling operations for the first time since World War II.
Meanwhile, simultaneously with the coming into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the Japan-U.S. Mutual Security Agreement came into effect, laying the groundwork for U.S. forces to remain in Japan to guarantee Japan's security against aggression. The administrative agreement spelling out details governing the status of U.S. troops under the security treaty was negotiated in January when Dean Rusk flew in from Washington as special envoy, and was formally signed on February 28.
With Allied blessings, Japan set about rebuilding its police power and capability to discourage military aggression. In October, the National Police Reserves, created under a directive issued by the Occupation forces, became the National Self-Defense Force and joined the Maritime Safety Force as Japan's weapon against aggressors under the jurisdiction of an agency in the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan also assumed jurisdiction over the entry and departure of airplanes on March 10, took over the authority to administer export trade on March 15, and about the same time lifted the ban on the use of zaibatsu names and trademarks.
Leftist