09-151.pdf

In 1958, another crisis arose on February 16. A South Korean
civilian airplane with 34 passengers was hijacked by five North Korean
agents during a flight from Pusan to Seoul. At the 81st MAC meeting
called by the KPA/CPV convened on February 24, the North argued
that it was not a problem to be raised in the MAC but to be solved
between the two states’ authorities. It maintained this position at the
82nd, 83rd and 84th meetings held on March 10, March 20 and July
2 respectively, the first requested by the KPA/CPV and the two latter
by the UNC/MAC. The South requested a prompt return of the plane
and the passengers. A return of the plane was also urged at the 82nd,
83rd and 84th meetings. After the plane reportedly had landed safely
in P’yôngyang on February 17, 26 passengers were returned on March
6 through Panmunjom after the UNC had admitted a violation of the
Armistice Agreement and provided a receipt (no. 20). Eight anticommunists
were killed on suspicion of being spies. When the South
raised the return of the plane on the anniversary of the hijacking, the
North referred to its previous responses and considered the issue
terminated.
At the 85th meeting called by the KPA/CPV convened on July
14, the North accused the South of having violated the Armistice
Agreement by establishing a “guided missile base” close to the DMZ
and introducing brand-new weapons such as Honest John missiles
and atomic artillery, obstructing peaceful re-unification. An immediate
withdrawal of nuclear weapons was requested. The South responded
that new weapons introduced after the cancellation of Paragraph 13
(d) would not be withdrawn since the North, by rearming, had violated
the agreement. As at the 80th meeting, modernization of equipment
was defended by arguing that it was necessary to maintain military
102 Peace-keeping in the Korean Peninsula