War correspondent Wilfred Burchett (left) and an unidentified journalist outside a hut during ...

War correspondent Wilfred Burchett (left) and an unidentified journalist outside a hut during armistice negotiations. Born in Clifton Hill, Vic in 1911, Burchett worked as a war correspondent during the Second World War. Developing an interest in Communism, he visited China in 1951. From there he went to Korea where he covered the 1952 peace talks from the North Korean and Chinese sides for the French communist newspaper Ce Soir and New York's National Guardian. With Alan Winnington from Britain's Daily Worker, Burchett accused the US led United Nations negotiators of prolonging the negotiations while trying to gain advantages on the battlefield. Both also reported alleged atrocities carried out by US soldiers. Initially the journalists were labelled as traitors. The Australian government collected evidence with the aim of prosecuting Burchett for treason, however the Australian Security Intelligence Organization provided advice that the case was incomplete. In 1953 Burchett published a book on the Korean War titled 'This Monstrous War'.