795.00/8–1353
The Secretary of State to the United States Representative at the United Nations (Lodge) 1
confidential
[
Washington
,] August 13, 1953.
Dear Cabot : For the guidance of the U.S. Delegation, I set down the following principles on which I think we are agreed:
- 1.
- The Korean Political Conference should represent the two belligerent sides, as contemplated by Article 60 of the Armistice Agreement. It is not to be a “roundtable” conference with the participation of neutrals.
- 2.
- The United Nations General Assembly can properly recommend the Governments from the anti-Communist belligerent side to participate in the Conference, but it has no responsibility to choose the participants for the other side.
- 3.
- The Political Conference will deal only with Korean problems. This does not exclude the possibility that if the Korean Conference goes well, it might with different membership be transformed into another conference to deal with other subjects. This latter possibility, however, could not be determined or agreed in advance.
- 4.
- The United States at the Conference would be entitled to act for itself, in the protection of its own interests, and would not have any [Page 1493] representative responsibility to others or be bound by the vote or recommendations of others. We would, of course, expect to act in a cooperative manner with our friends.
- 5.
- The participation of the Government of the Republic of Korea is so indispensable that no conditions should be attached to the Political Conference which could reasonably lead to non-participation by that Government.
- 8.
- If the action by the United Nations Assembly is seriously incompatible with the foregoing, the United States should reserve its position as to participation in the Political Conference.
Sincerely yours,
John Foster
Dulles
- A note on the source text indicated this letter was sent to USUN at 7 p.m. via courier. Dulles drafted this letter and asked Murphy and Robertson to comment upon it; both Assistant Secretaries cleared it.↩