Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Far East, Volume VI

740.00119 Control (Korea)/5–847: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union

confidential

Washington , May 12, 1947—8 p.m.

1155. Please deliver following to FonOff.⁷⁰

“My dear Mr. Molotov:

I have received your letter of May 7, 1947 and am pleased to note the agreement of your Government to the reconvening of a Joint Commission on the basis of the proposals made in the American Commander’s letter of Dec 24, 1946 to the Soviet Commander in Korea. Those proposals were authorized by this Government and are identical in purpose to the statement contained in the second paragraph of my letter of May 2, 1947.

I am instructing the American Commander in Korea to make immediate preparations for reconvening the Commission in Seoul. A copy of this letter has been sent to the Governments of the United Kingdom and China.

I convey renewed assurances of my highest consideration.”

Sent Moscow. Repeated Seoul.⁷¹

Sent London and Nanking for info FonOff.⁷²

Marshall

70. The letter was delivered the morning of May 13.
71. As telegram 80.
72. As telegrams 2070 and 566, respectively. In telegram 1044, May 14, the Ambassador in China reported that the Chinese Foreign Minister had remarked that the Soviet idea of compromise was to force acceptance of their own view (740.00119 Control (Korea)/5–1447).