795.00/6–1653
The Secretary of State to the President of the Republic of Korea (Rhee)1
My Dear President Rhee: I greatly appreciate your prompt and cordial response to my note of June 12 [11]. I am sorry that you cannot now leave your country, but I quite understand your reasons.
You suggest that I might visit you. I had hoped that it would be possible for me to do so as I would like to talk to you face to face. Indeed, I suggested to the President that he let me go and he was sympathetic. However, as you know, our Congress is now approaching the end of this session and is considering much important legislation including our mutual assistance programs. This legislation is of vital importance to our foreign policy objective of resisting Communism throughout the world. Therefore, the President regretfully concluded that I should not leave Washington at this time.
However, it is urgently important that we immediately agree on the positive measures that we will take together to obtain the results we both want from the political conference which will follow the armistice. I have ideas which I want to communicate to you by trusted emissary. I therefore propose that the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, Mr. Walter S. Robertson, promptly go to Korea. Mr. Robertson has the full confidence of the President and myself, he has a long record of solid opposition to Chinese Communism and would be able fully and frankly to discuss these matters with you. I feel that he could be helpful in clearing up any misunderstandings as to our post-armistice policies and that his journey and its results would emphasize before the whole world that the United States and the Republic of Korea want to work together. It will be our joint policies, I hope that more than any other influence will determine the future of your country. Certainly we shall not fail you in this respect. I hope that this suggestion about Robertson may meet with your approval2 as I would like him to leave at once to see you.
With best regards I am
Sincerely yours,
- This letter was transmitted in telegram 1 to Seoul, also sent as 785 to Pusan and 2926 to Tokyo, June 16, 1953. It was drafted by Dulles and Johnson.↩
- In telegram 5 from Seoul, June 17, 1953, Briggs reported that he had delivered this letter to Rhee, who asked the Ambassador to say in reply that he understood the obstacles preventing Dulles from visiting Korea, and was delighted to receive Robertson on the Secretary of State’s behalf. (795.00/6–1753)↩