LONDON: Hopes of an early end of the Korean war rose throughout the world today [June 24] following last night’s proposal from Mr Jacob Malik, Soviet Chief Delegate to the United Nations, for cease-fire on the 38th Parallel. First reaction from the United Nations’ New York Headquarters was that the gap between Western and Soviet terms for ending the conflict appeared to have narrowed down to almost nothing. United Nations officials regarded the new proposal as almost identical with Secretary of State Dean Acheson’s recent statement of American policy and Mr Trygve Lie’s own suggestions for ending the war.

M Malik … proposed a conference between the [belligerents] in Korea to discuss a cease-fire and an armistice on the 38th Parallel, as a first step towards a peaceful settlement… . He suggested that the armistice should be for a mutual withdrawal of forces from the Parallel.

The State Department in Washington promptly issued a statement saying if M Malik’s offer was “more than propaganda, adequate means for discussing an end to the conflict are available”. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026