793.94 Commission/858
Dr. Syngman Rhee to the Secretary of State
[Received March 1.]
Excellency: I have the honor to enclose a copy of a communication addressed by me this day to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations80 in which I called the attention of the States, members of the League of Nations, to the fact that a just and equitable solution of the Korean problem must form part of any solution of the Manchurian problem now before the League, if that solution is to be permanent and lasting.
In bringing this correspondence to your notice, I desire to assure you that my people, 23,000,000 Koreans, join most heartily with the enlightened opinion of the world in supporting your Far Eastern policy in reference to the present Sino-Japanese conflict, and also to remind you of the fact that the Korean people do believe and will continue to believe that the United States will some day fulfill their promise of “good offices” pledged in the American-Korean treaty of 1882,81 which has never been abrogated. The nations begin to realize more fully than ever that an independent Korea will prove a big step toward the permanent solution of the Pacific problem, and your good offices in this direction at this juncture will mean a great contribution toward the cause of Korean Independence.
I have [etc.]
President, Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
- Not printed. For his statement dated February 18, 1933, transmitted by the Chinese delegation, see League of Nations, Official Journal, Special Supp. No. 112 (Geneva, 1933), pp. 53–55.↩
- See article I of treaty of peace, amity, commerce and navigation, signed May 22, 1882, William M. Malloy (ed.), Treaties, Conventions, etc., Between the United States of America and Other Powers, 1776–1909 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1910), vol. i, p. 334.↩