Editorial Note
On September 21, Secretary of State Acheson, Chairman of the United States Delegation to the 4th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, made an address before the first plenary meeting on the United States position on problems confronting the 4th General Assembly (text in the Department of State Bulletin, October 3, 1949, page 489). Regarding Korea, he made the following statement:
“… It is the view of the United States that a United Nations Commission should continue to be stationed in Korea. Among the principal responsibilities of such a body should be to observe and report on any developments which might lead to military conflict in Korea, to use the influence of the United Nations to avert the potential threat of internal strife in that troubled land, and to explore further the possibility of unification. The authority of the Commission to observe and report on the actual facts may be sufficient to prevent open hostilities. This is the fervent desire of all patriotic Koreans. …”