795.00/7–1051: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Korea
28. USIE media in Korea shld exercise extraordinary tact in explaining factors bearing upon armistice in Korea. Obvious in present circumstances personal direction of ambassador essential. Deptel 1003, June 29 etc. provide understanding US policy armistice. Reiterate armistice is purely mil matter, with polit issues to be considered later. Use utmost discretion in conveying ideas that acceptable armistice wld have to include satis guarantees against renewal of aggression; that US will not abandon UN polit objectives in Korea, including independence and unification; and that US is not indifferent to the future welfare of Korea, toward which we have already extended enormous aid and sacrificed thousands of lives.
Without appearing to lecture or admonish, and using discretion in timing in relation to armistice developments, efforts shld be made to demonstrate that Koreans in own self interest shld accept and support pattern of collective security which proved effective in mtg the North Korean aggression, and that undue insistence upon fulfillment polit objectives by mil means probably wld result in prolongation and even extension of the war with inevitably disastrous consequences to future of Korea.