142. Letter From the Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)1

Dear Mr. Secretary: Your letter of April 26, 19562 to the Secretary recommending early action to remove the Neutral Nations Inspection Teams from south Korea and to introduce new military equipment into Korea arrived just as the Department of State had begun, with Department of Defense concurrence, a new course of action intended to resolve the inspection team problem along the lines of your recommendation.

We have proposed to officers of the Embassies of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and France that we respond to the Chinese Communist note of April 9, 1956 not only by rejecting the proposed conference on Korean unification, but also by announcing in the Military Armistice Commission that under the circumstances the United Nations Command proposes provisionally to suspend performance of its obligations to permit operations of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission and Neutral Nations Inspection Teams in the area under the control of the United Nations Command. In suspending performance of certain of the duties laid upon us under the Armistice Agreement, we would act with full regard for the provisions of the Armistice Agreement and in reliance on the facts of Communist violations and obstruction. We plan to present this same course of action this week to the officials of the Embassies of all the countries which contributed troops to the United Nations Command.3 It seems clear to the Department of State that [Page 263] the Swiss and Swedish negotiations with the Communists have come to an end, and we are hopeful that our Allies can be convinced of the necessity for taking action to resolve the problem. We are doing all in our power to bring the matter to a successful conclusion quickly.

The Department of State concurs in your recommendation that within a reasonable period of time after the resolution of this problem General Lemnitzer be authorized to replace obsolete and worn out equipment by appropriate replacement. The Department of State considers that this can be accomplished legally within the terms of paragraph 13(d) of the Armistice Agreement as a matter of interpretation of the Agreement in the light of the actions of the other side, and should be announced when it is done. It will still be necessary, however, to continue reports on matériel as well as personnel to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission. It appears most advisable to inform our Allies beforehand of our contemplated action in view of its political implications. Since the international developments cannot altogether be foreseen, we shall have, of course, to make a final assessment of the situation before the introduction of new weapons is undertaken.

Sincerely yours,

Herbert Hoover, Jr.4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 795.00/4–2656. Secret. Drafted by Norred and cleared with UNP, L, EUR, and by Murphy.
  2. Not printed. (Ibid.)
  3. See the memorandum of conversation, Supra.
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.