795.00/5–2253
The Secretary of State to the President of the Republic of Korea (Rhee)1
My Dear Mr. President: I speak to you as a friend of your nation. As you know I have long worked for a free and united Korea. In 1947, and again in 1948 in the United Nations, I initiated for the United States steps which led to the establishment of your government, and international acceptance of the proposition that Korea ought to be free and united. On June 19, 1950, almost 3 years ago to this day, I stood at your side and addressed the Korean National Assembly. I spoke of a Korea which would peacefully achieve unity, freedom and strength. I pledged our nation’s continuing support of that goal. Also, because aggression was an ever-present threat and because your people felt alone, I asserted that free world unity was a reality, and I concluded: “You are not alone. You will never be alone so long as you continue to play worthily your part in the great design of human freedom”.
That pledge of unity was hailed throughout South Korea. It was quickly put to the test, for within six days the aggressor struck. Within a few hours the brave army of the Republic of Korea was overwhelmed by superior forces and the territory of the Republic was overrun. Then you pleaded for the help of the free world. It came. The United Nations acted, and the United States responded quickly and largely to its appeal on your behalf. We responded because we believed in the principle of free world unity.
[Page 1239]The principle of unity cannot work without sacrifice. No one can do precisely what he wants. The youth of America did not do what they wanted. Over one million American boys have left their homes and families and their peaceful pursuits, to go to far away Korea. They went because, at a dark hour, you invoked the sacred principle of free world unity to save your country from overwhelming disaster. Of those one million American boys who have gone to your land, 24,000 died, another 110,000 were wounded. The cost to us in money is counted in the tens of billions of dollars. That was part of the price we paid for loyalty to the principle of unity when you invoked it.
You know full well that we did not come to fight and die in Korea in order to unite it by force, or to liberate by force the North Koreans. We do not subscribe to the principle that such injustices are to be remedied by recourse to war. If indeed that were sound principle we should be fighting all over the world and the total of misery and destruction would be incalculable. We came to Korea to demonstrate that there would be unity to throw back armed aggression.
That has been done. The enemy has offered an armistice which restores the authority of the Republic of Korea over territory somewhat larger than that which preceded the aggression. No prisoner of war will be forcibly repatriated. There will be a political conference at which your government and mine will work shoulder to shoulder on measures which I am convinced will ultimately lead to the unification of Korea. In the meantime your Republic can share with us a mutual security pact and would enjoy a program of economic aid which of itself will set up a powerful attraction upon the North Koreans.
The Government of the United States, and indeed the governments of all the free nations of the world, have expressed the opinion that these terms can honorably be accepted. Our Declaration of Independence said that we owed a decent respect for the opinion of mankind. No one who has invoked and received the help of mankind can decently ignore its opinion.
It is at this moment that you are apparently considering rejection of the principle of unity. Because the fighting has not given you all that you had hoped, you seem to be on the verge of wrecking allied unity. You have already taken unilateral action in defiance of the authority of the United Nations Command, and I hear reports that you have even suggested attempting to withdraw the Republic of Korea forces from the United Nations Command.
Do you have the right to take this action? It is you who invoked the principle of unity and asked us to pay the price. We have paid it in blood and suffering. Can you now honorably reject the principle which, in your hour of need, you asked us to defend at so high a price?
You know that for your Republic now to attempt to go its separate way would mean a horrible disaster. It would give the Communists [Page 1240] their greatest victory and it would elate them, when they face grave internal unrest. For they know full well that the free world cannot exist if it operates in accordance with the principle that unity exists only so long as each gets 100% his own way.
The principle of interdependence involves sacrifice. It will involve sacrifice on your part as it has involved sacrifices on our part. Your nation lives today not only because of the great valor and sacrifices of your own armies but because others have come to your side and died beside you. Do you now have the moral right to destroy the national life which, at your plea, we helped to save at a great price? Can you be deaf when we now invoke the plea of unity?
I have asked my Assistant Secretary, Walter Robertson, to bring you our thoughts because the hour is too grave to risk the lack of understanding which can come from merely cabled exchanges. He has the complete confidence of President Eisenhower and myself.
Sincerely yours,