740.00119 Control (Korea)/11–2746: Telegram
The Political Adviser in Korea (Langdon) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:53 p.m.]
139. Dept’s 150, November 22 and 147, November 8.82 Anticipated in my 131 of November 483 Dr. Rhee has decided to return to US and will probably sail from Inchon about December 1. Particulars and date arrival will be furnished Department as soon as known.
On November 22 Rhee announced that purpose of his return was to handle Korean question in UNO Assembly, and local press, both right and left, is apprehensive as to how he will handle it. So are we. Although we recognize that discussion of the Korean problem in the Assembly is desirable, since it will focus world attention on the unhappy position of the Korean people caused by the prolonged division of their country and may mobilize world’s sympathy for them for whatever it may be worth to the Soviets, we do not believe Rhee views the discussion in the same light.
We suspect he intends to use it to denounce the Soviet and praise the American occupation and plead for nullification of the Moscow agreement and for immediate independence. As the Soviets may still believe Rhee to be our puppet, they may conceivably confuse Rhee’s pleading with American policy, to the detriment and delay of the joint solution of the problem. The Department may therefore wish to follow this matter closely so that if Rhee gets out of hand in the Assembly it may appropriately dissociate the US Government with any movement to set aside the Moscow decision or to obtain recognition of a separate South Korean Govt.
Dept’s 7129 [29], September 23, mentioned in serial 150, has not been received or identified and we would be interested in its contents.