Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Korea, Volume VII

795.00/9–650

Memorandum Agreed Upon by the French, United Kingdom, and United States Delegations to the United Nations¹

secret

New York, September 6, 1950.

Procedural Problems Raised in General Assembly Consideration of the Korean Problem

In discussions with the UK, French, and U.S. Delegations in New York on August 28 the points stated below were agreed upon. The substantive aspects of the Korean problem are considered separately in document No. 5 (D–6/1).² There are no questions under the above heading which require decision by the Foreign Ministers.

Points of Agreement.

1) The procedural problem of concurrent consideration of Korea by the SC and the GA arises because Article 12 of the Charter provides that while the SC is exercising its functions regarding a dispute the GA shall not make any recommendations with respect to it unless the SC so requests. A decision of the SC to remove an item from its agenda is not subject to the veto.

2) During the GA the SC should continue to remain seized of the specific item of “complaint of aggression against the Republic of Korea” and it should not request the GA to make recommendations regarding this matter. This position is subject to review should it prove necessary for the UN to take further affirmative action regarding the aggression or military operations and a Soviet veto in the SC appears likely.

3) Since the GA will have before it the problem of “the independence of Korea” and the report of UNCOK the GA will have wide latitude in discussing and making recommendations regarding the future of Korea.

1. A cover sheet (not printed) to the source text, hearing the date September 11, indicated that this was a document prepared for the records of the Foreign Ministers Conference; it bore the designation “Document 19 [D–1/2]”.
2. Dated August 31, p. 679; see also Document 12 [D–6/1a], dated September 1, p. 682.