357.AD/8–1753: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the United States Mission at the United Nations1
priority
68. Swedish Embassy has in confidence made available to Department report from Swedish Ambassador Peiping that following is Chinese Communist sentiment as expressed by Chou En-lai regarding political conference Korea:
Desire following 11 powers be represented: US, Soviet Union, England, France, China, India, North Korea, South Korea, Poland, Burma and Sweden. Desire conference take roundtable form but decisions of conference to require agreement of “parties to armistice” to be binding. Conference to consider questions in order appearing in Art. 60 of Armistice, i.e., withdrawal all foreign troops from Korea, peaceful settlement Korea question, and after this consider “other questions”. Specifically stated did not want to discuss Indochina parallel with consideration Korean questions. Chou En-lai indicated Chinese Communists would [Page 1497] show conciliatory attitude but this should not be interpreted as weakness. Stated Swedish participation viewed as natural consequence to role in Supervisory and Repatriation Commissions.
Embassy did not know whether Swedish Ambassador received foregoing directly from Chou but implication is that third person transmitted.
- This telegram was drafted by Alfred L. Jenkins of the Office of Chinese Affairs and by Johnson, who also cleared it for transmission.↩