320/12–1350: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the United States Mission at the United Nations
priority
584. Assuming 13-Power res is adopted and GA Pres group commences task thereunder, it is likely that other dels will seek obtain US views as to its position on negotiations with Chi Commies. Questions relating to forum, scope of agenda, and place of such negotiations and participants therein will doubtless arise. Dept does not wish at this time to adopt firm position on these questions. There fols however some preliminary and incomplete views which you may wish use in your talks with other dels.
In general our attitude shld be governed by Pres-PriMin communiqué that we are ready as we always have been to seek end to hostilities by means of negotiation and that every effort must be made achieve purposes of UN in Korea by peaceful means and to find solution of Kor problem on basis of free and independent Korea. Furthermore, our general position shld reflect necessity of carrying overwhelming majority of free world with us in further GA steps. Thus we do not wish to be subject to criticism that on question of negotiations [Page 1541] we have been unduly intransigent or inflexible on matters which do not involve basic principle.
- 1.
- Forum. We wld be prepared to take part in negotiations respecting Korea with interested govts and authorities, including reps of Peiping regime. These negotiations cld be either inside or outside existing UN Organs or special UN Commission established for purpose. If negotiations are to be held within UN we eld not of course accept demand that as precondition for discussion, UN shld oust Nationalist delegates or seat Communist delegates. In either case our willingness negotiate with Peiping Regime wld not imply any change in our attitude towards them in regard to recognition or UN representation.
- 2.
- Agenda of negotiations. Any negotiations which are held shld deal first with question of Korea and we shld attempt to confine agenda to Korean settlement. We wld not accept a Communist demand that settlement of Kor question is connected with or depends upon settlement of other questions such as Formosa and Chi seat in UN. This does not mean that we wld reject inclusion on agenda of other questions, but we wld reject linking up of such other questions with Kor settlement. If it becomes necessary to include other questions on agenda, it shld be made clear that their inclusion is without any prior commitment with respect to our views on substance. Under these circumstances we might well insist ourselves that agenda include other Far Eastern items of interest to us, for example, Communist recognition and support of Ho Chi-minh, Tibet, treatment of US persons and property in China, etc.
- 3.
- As to place of negotiations we shld seek have them at Lake Success. We wld not however reject completely some other neutral place if it became necessary make concession on this point.