740.00119 Control (Korea)/5–749: Telegram
The Ambassador in Korea (Muccio) to the Secretary of State
506. The following press release No. 2A 1949 has just been delivered to foreign correspondents in Seoul:
“President Syngman Rhee has asked the Office of Public Information to release the following statement:
[Page 1012]“What we are trying to find out, states President Rhee, is whether or not the United States considers that Southern Korea falls within its own first line of defense. Would an attack upon Southern Korea be interpreted in the United States as tantamount to an attack upon the American people themselves? In the case of an attack by an outside power, would the Republic of Korea be able to count upon all-out American military aid? This question is of far greater importance than the mere question of whether or not the remaining American troops are to stay in Korea. The Republic of Korea is struggling for its life against a Communist menace that is not of its own making. When Japan was defeated, there were no Communists in Korea. They were invited in by the division of our country across the middle by Russian-American agreement. The Communists were greatly encouraged and strengthened in South Korea by efforts to deal with them on a basis of compromise. Compromise with aggressors means ultimate surrender without a chance to resist, which we cannot and will not do.
“We do not propose to fight the North Korean Communists or their foreign overlords. We will continue our efforts to unify the North and South by peaceful means. At the same time, we are responsible for the protection of the lives and property of our people; and when the Korean Communists come over the 38th parallel and destroy us, we cannot sit still and allow them to harm us without resistance; we must make their invasion of the South costly to them. For this purpose we need a sufficient supply of adequate weapons for our defense”.
In releasing the President’s statement, Mr. Kim Dong Sung, Director of the Office of Public Information, said:
“During all the 3 years of American Military Government in South Korea, the Nationalist Korean leaders were forbidden to denounce Communism. Dozens of radio addresses by Dr. Rhee and other leaders were strictly censored to remove all criticisms of Communism. South Korea was forbidden the right to build up an army for its own defense. All attempts to prevent Communist organization and propaganda were forbidden. We were asked to trust the United States to solve our problems, and to wait patiently until a Russian-American agreement should somehow be reached. Now the United States asks if we are ready and willing for all remaining American troops to be withdrawn. What we want to know is what will be done to protect us from the Communist menace that keeps our country divided into two halves, and that has even introduced Communism into our own communities in the south? The United States has left us with a problem too great to be solved by ourselves alone, especially with half our strength shorn away. We do not believe that the United States can or will withdraw its remaining troops until it has answered our question as to what will be done to aid us in case of a Communist attack from across the 38th parallel line.”