Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Korea, Volume XXIII, Part 2

35. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, April 11, 1955¹

Washington , April 11, 1955

SUBJECT

• Delivery of Note Concerning the NNSC to the Swiss Minister²

PARTICIPANTS

• Mr. Henry de Torrente, Minister, Legation of Switzerland
• Mr. Felix Schnyder, Counselor, Legation of Switzerland
• Mr. Robert Murphy, G
• Mr. Ward P. Allen, EUR
• Mr. William G. Jones, Officer in Charge, Korean Affairs, NA

Mr. Murphy handed the note to the Swiss Minister stating that there had been no change in the United States position with respect to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC). Mr. Murphy pointed out that we had included in the note a reference to the Swedish proposal that inspection teams at the ports of entry be abolished; that total personnel be reduced to between ten and twenty persons per country; and that all remaining personnel be stationed in the Demilitarized Zone. He hoped that the Swiss would find it possible to support the Swedish proposal.

Minister de Torrente then suggested that in view of his understanding that the principal problem with respect to the NNSC was a result of ROK hostilities toward the Czechs and Poles on that Commission, an alternative solution might be to establish headquarters for the NNSC at Panmunjom and to assign Swiss and Swedes as liaison officers with the United Nations Command, presumably to be stationed in the ports of entry in the ROK. Similarly Czechs and Poles could be established as liaison officers in north Korea. The Minister emphasized that he had no instructions on this matter and was speaking quite unofficially and in response to Mr. Murphy’s question said he thought his government would prefer a solution such as he had suggested rather than the Swedish solution because it would seem to them to be more legal. Mr. Murphy responded that he found it very difficult to understand this position and that while the Minister’s idea would of course be some improvement over the present state of affairs, viewing the measure as a whole the United States Government much preferred the proposal made by Sweden.

1. Source: Department of State, NA Files: Lot 59 D 407, Memcons (NNSC) 1955. Confidential. Drafted by Jones on April 12.
2. A copy of this note is attached but not printed. The note is a response to the Swiss note delivered on March 25 (see Document 32). In the note, the United States sympathized with the difficult situation faced by Switzerland with respect to the NNSC but concluded that the Swiss proposal of March 25 left unsolved “the serious problem created by the presence of any Communist members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in South Korea.” After a review of the nature of the problem, the note closed with a reference to the position that Sweden proposed to take in the NNSC, outlined in the memorandum Supra , and asked Switzerland to support that position.