S/S Files: Lot 59D95, Box 99
Position Paper Prepared for the United States Delegation to the Washington Foreign Ministers Meetings, Tripartite, and British Talks1
WFM T–10a
UN Action in Korea in Case of an Armistice
problem
To obtain British and French support for the U.S. position with [Page 888] respect to UN courses of action in Korea in case an armistice is successfully negotiated.
u.s. objective
To achieve a unified independent and democratic Korea with maximum assurance against Communist domination.
probable positions of the british and french
The British and French will probably support the U.S. position in general; they will likely prefer replacement of ROK and North Korean governments by newly constituted regime for all of Korea to assumption of jurisdiction over North Korea by ROK.
position to be presented
1. Political discussions on Korea must follow an armistice.
2. A settlement on Korea cannot be related to other Far Eastern problems and must be dealt with entirely on its own merits. Political discussions of other Far Eastern problems cannot take place prior to a Korean political settlement.
3. The purpose of political discussions on Korea would be to obtain agreement on the following:
- a.
- Establishment under UN supervision of a unified, independent and democratic Korea, assured, insofar as possible, against Communist domination.
- b.
- Activation of a rehabilitation program for all of Korea under UNKRA, no funds to be spent in North Korea until political settlement in force.
- c.
- Plan for phased withdrawal of foreign forces with reasonable assurances against internal disorder and external aggression.
4. Unification of Korea without Communist domination might be achieved either by a) integration of North Korea into the existing ROK, or b) replacement of the North Korean regime and the ROK government by a successor government for all of Korea. The United States should reserve its position on which of these methods to support pending further study of the situation and analysis of the attitudes of UN members and the ROK.
5. Procedure leading to a political conference for a Korean settlement should take the following form:
- a.
- The General Assembly should appoint a United Nations Delegation to represent the UN in working out a Korean settlement.
- b.
- The UN Delegation would set up a conference in which the participants might be: the UN Delegation, the ROK, the North Koreans, Chinese Communists, and the USSR.
- c.
- Agreements achieved by the conference would be referred to the General Assembly for approval.2
- A cover sheet to the source text in the form of a memorandum by Robbins P. Gilman, Secretary to the U.S. Delegation, read as follows: “The attached document has been revised to take into consideration comments by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This document now stands approved.”↩
- The remainder of the document was identical with the text of WFM T–10, August 18, p. 831.↩