HER/CAT A
IMMEDIATE SEOUL
TELEGRAM NO. 335
SECRET
TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 18 NOVEMBER 1968
SECRET.
ADDRESSED TO FCC TELEGRAM NO. 325 CF 18/11 REPEATED FOR
INFORMATION TO HONG KONG AND PEKING,
PERSONAL FOR MORETON FROM MURRAY.
26
GREY
AT BEST THE LATEST MOVES BY THE CHINESE OVER GREY (THE APPROACHES THROUGH COVERT CHANNELS AND THE REQUEST FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF PRISON VISITS) COULD MEAN THAT THEY ARE TAKING THE LAST ADVANTAGE BEFORE RELEASING HIM. MORE PESSIMISTICALLY,
THE MOVES COULD BE AN INDICATION THAT (SIC) THE RELEASE OF THE OTHER 13 COMMUNIST NEWSPAPER WORKERS AS WELL. THIS MIGHT WELL BE THE RESULT OF PRESSURE BY THE LOCAL COMMUNISTS. IF SO, THE
QUESTION WOULD BE WHETHER THE ASKING PRICE WAS THE FINAL PRICE
CR WHETHER, MET BY FIPYNESS ON OUR PART, THE PEKING AUTHORITIES, ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THEY NOW WISH TO SETTLE THE GREY CASE, MIGHT QUIETLY DROP THEIR DEMAND. I THINK IT PREMATURE TO ATTEMPT AN ASSESSMENT OF THIS.
2. EVEN IF THE CHINESE INTEND TO LET GREY OUT IN RETURN FOR HSEUM, WE CANNOT EXPECT HIS RELEASE WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS.
I CONSIDERED CAREFULLY WITH CRADOCK WHETHER THERE MIGHT BE ADVANTAGE
IN KIS MAKING EARLY REPRESENTATIONS TO THE CHINESE ALONG THE LINES THAT WE HOPED THAT THE RELEASE OF HSEUH WOULD EC MATCHED BY THE RELEASE OF GREY, WE WERE BOTH OFPOSE, WE THOUGHT THAT SUCH
AN APPROACH MICHT MERELY INCITE THE CHINESE TO NAVE AN EXAGGERATED
SECRET
/PRICE
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