501.BB Korea/7–748: Telegram
The Political Adviser in Korea (Jacobs) to the Secretary of State
531. Cite Zpol 7386. Reference paragraph 3, Seoul PolAd 530, [Page 1234] July 7.1 Following are remarks made by Rhee on June 30 when UNTCOK visited Assembly:
“We are delighted to welcome to the Korean National Assembly the chairman and other members of the United Nations Temporary Commission to Korea. They come as our guest[s], at our invitation, but they are no strangers to us. They have been working with us ever since they came to Korea last January to assist in and to observe the free election of true representatives of the Korean people. We, the members of the National Assembly assembled here together are those representatives, elected by the free choice of the Korean people in that portion of our country open to the observation of the United Nations Commission. Our debt to these friends who have come to Korea from all over the world to assist the Korean people in these difficult times is incalculable. But this is the sort of debt which we are honored to owe, for it is the debt of the proud, ancient people, whom we represent in this Assembly, to the free nations of the world, who have reached out to help us.
As is well known we are constantly striving and we pledge ourselves to continue to strive to establish national unity, and to bring together all Koreans regardless of residence into one nation and one govt. We look forward with unconcealed eagerness to the day when our fellow countrymen in the north will be able to hold elections for their representatives in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations, and when they will be able to send their freely elected representatives to take their rightful places in this Assembly and in the forthcoming govt. We are sure we have the goodwill and the support of the members of the United Nations Commission in our efforts to reunite our country, and that we can look forward to their continued assistance and good offices to that end.
Now, it is my honor and my pleasure to introduce to you the chairman and members of UNTCOK.”
- Not printed.↩