Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Korea and China, Volume VII, Part 1

Resolution 498 (V), Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, February 1, 1951¹

February 1, 1951

The General Assembly,

Noting that the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, has failed to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in regard to Chinese Communist intervention in Korea,²

Noting that the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China has not accepted United Nations proposals to bring about a cessation of hostilities in Korea with a view to peaceful settlement, and that its armed forces continue their invasion of Korea and their large-scale attacks upon United Nations forces there,

1. Finds that the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, by giving direct aid and assistance to those who were already committing aggression in Korea and by engaging in hostilities against United Nations forces there, has itself engaged in aggression in Korea;

2. Calls upon the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China to cause its forces and nationals in Korea to cease hostilities against the United Nations forces and to withdraw from Korea;

3. Affirms the determination of the United Nations to continue its action in Korea to meet the aggression;

4. Calls upon all States and authorities to continue to lend every assistance to the United Nations action in Korea;

5. Calls upon all States and authorities to refrain from giving any assistance to the aggressors in Korea;

6. Requests a Committee composed of the members of the Collective Measures Committee as a matter of urgency to consider additional measures to be employed to meet this aggression and to report thereon to the General Assembly,³ it being understood that the Committee is authorized to defer its report if the Good Offices Committee referred to in the following paragraph reports satisfactory progress in its efforts;⁴

7. Affirms that it continues to be the policy of the United Nations to bring about a cessation of hostilities in Korea and the achievement of United Nations objectives in Korea by peaceful means, and requests the President of the General Assembly to designate forthwith two persons who would meet with him at any suitable opportunity to use their good offices to this end.

1. This resolution was adopted at the 327th plenary meeting of the General Assembly by a vote of 44 in favor, to 7 opposed, with 9 abstentions. The countries opposing were the same as those who had opposed during the vote in the First Committee on January 30; those abstaining were also the same with the addition of Saudi Arabia, whose delegate entered for the record a statement that his abstention indicated non-participation in the voting. (U.N. document A/PV.327)
2. On the preceding day, the Security Council had unanimously adopted a resolution (S/1995) proposed by the British Delegate calling for removal from its agenda of the item “Complaint of aggression against the Republic of Korea”. The Soviet Delegate voted in favor on the grounds that this item had originally been included on the agenda illegally during the absence of the Soviet and Chinese (Communist) Representatives. (U.N. document S/PV.531)
3. For documentation relating to the work and conclusions of the Additional Measures Committee, see pp. 1874 ff. On May 18, 1951, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 500 (V) calling for a strategic embargo against the two countries; for text, see p. 1988.
4. Prior to the vote on the resolution as a whole, a separate vote was taken on this paragraph at the request of the Representative of Israel. The paragraph was approved by a vote of 43 to 7, with 8 abstentions. (A/PV.327)