795.00/9–2850
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. John C. Ross of the United States Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly
US/A/C.1/1944
Subject: Korea
| Participants: | H. E. Cyro de Freitas-Valle, Chairman, Brazilian Delegation |
| Mr. John C. Ross, United States Delegation |
After Freitas-Valle’s dinner last night1 he took me aside and after complaining about the British and in particular their conduct at the sponsors’ meeting Thursday afternoon2 on the draft Korean resolution, [Page 817] said that he had told Dening in the meeting that if someone should raise a point of order in the Committee against the jurisdiction of the Assembly even to imply authority to cross the 38th parallel he would have to support such a point of order. I discussed this question of jurisdiction and authority with Freitas-Valle, calling his attention to the restoration of peace and security in the area language in the Security Council resolution and indicating our feeling that in the event of any challenge our authority was secure.
Freitas-Valle then developed a somewhat different line as a corollary to his first point. He said that the United States was about to be judged for all of its activities in Korea. He said that all of our friends and he thought a great majority of the Assembly wanted to defend us. It was essential, however, that we put them in the position to make the most effective defense of us. He said that if the British resolution were put on the table on Friday as planned this would create a great deal of difficulty for many of our friends in regard to the jurisdictional issue. In effect he said the tabling of this resolution would impose a strong inhibition against MacArthur moving across the 38th parallel. Our friends would be in the position of having to argue in support of a theory of dubious validity. He recommended in very strong terms, therefore, that the British should not table the resolution for the next few days, that the United States Government as the Unified Command should give MacArthur whatever orders might be necessary to enable him to cross the 38th parallel and take whatever action the military situation required. Thereafter, Freitas-Valle said, all of our friends would be able to argue in our support on the basis of the fact of MacArthur’s action. This, he said, he was sure would be very helpful to him, to many of his Latin American colleagues, and in general to the Asiatics including the Indians. Freitas-Valle asked that I communicate his views to Ambassador Austin with whom he said he hoped to have a chance to discuss the matter at Lake Success Friday afternoon.
I told Freitas-Valle that I would of course communicate his views to Ambassador Austin who I knew would be delighted to talk with him and I expressed our very great appreciation for his friendliness and frankness.