895.01/56: Telegram

The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State

12. Department’s 320, December 22, 6 p.m. The result of investigation and study which the Foreign Office is now making with regard to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea will determine the future attitude of the Chinese Government. I gather that the present attitude is not enthusiastic. Information with regard to the physical following and organization of the Provisional Government is not yet available here. There are reported to be no more than 200 Koreans in this area. There is a small corps of armed Korean volunteers with the Chinese Army. The local representative is named Tjosowang who describes himself as Foreign Minister. The extent of his contacts with revolutionary Korean forces is difficult to ascertain. The Provisional Government is understood to be dominated by the moderate Korean Independence Party, the strength of which is not known. I am told that the left wing National Revolutionary [Page 859] Party has a large following among Koreans in Manchuria, but that it is not accorded a place in the so-called Provisional Government.

Gauss