Editorial Note

The 474th meeting of the United Nations Security Council began in New York at 3 p. m. on June 27; for the record, see U.N. document S/PV.474. The President of the Security Council (Rau) read aloud three communications from United Nations Commission on Korea (U.N. documents S/1503, 1504, and 1507), the last of which read as follows:

“Commission met this morning 10 o’clock [June 26] and considered latest reports on hostilities and results direct observation along parallel by UNCOK military observers over period ending forty-eight hours before hostilities began. Commission’s present view on basis this evidence is first that, judging from actual progress of operations, Northern Regime is carrying out well-planned, concerted and full-scale invasion of South Korea; secondly, that South Korean forces were deployed on wholly defensive basis in all sectors of the parallel; and thirdly, that they were taken completely by surprise as they had no reason to believe from intelligence sources that invasion was imminent. Commission is following events and will report further developments.”

The United States representative (Austin) read to the Council the text of President Truman’s statement of June 27 after offering a draft resolution (S/1508/Rev. 1) which was subsequently adopted by the Security Council, without amendment, as S/1511; see page 211. Before voting, however, the Council adjourned at 5:10 p. m. and did not sit again until 10:25 p. m.