Consorting with the Enemy: American Reporters and "Red Sources" at the Korean Truce Talks, 1951-1953

Abstract

Through the Cold War's ebb and flow, there were always contacts across the line, even at the tensest of times. One of the most remarkable was the information arrangement made between American and Communist-affiliated journalists at the Korean truce talks first at Kaesong and then at Panmunjom from July 1951 to July 1953. The American correspondents acted upon a journalistic ideology that allowed them to defy the United Nations Command (UNC) and "fraternize" with the enemy during wartime. While still staying wholly committed to the Cold War consensus a belief in the goodness of American and the evil of monolithic Communism. This experience not only demonstrated the flexibility of journalism in the Cold War, but also probably made it easier for other journalists to use Communist sources and information and even travel behind the lines in the Vietnam War. Reporters in Vietnam, however, were able to push the boundaries further because the divisions in American society over the war had expanded the range of what was considered legitimate news in Vietnam.