795.00/6–154: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the United States Delegation 1

secret
niact

Tedul 145. Foregoing dictated prior to receipt by Secretary of Dulte 137.2 For Undersecretary from Secretary in New York. Have just read Tosec 316.3 I feel break-off should be on UN issue and that this should be our final position. The entire Korean War was fought to establish UN principle of collective security. Korea happened to be the symbol. Since we are not going to get at this time any unification of Korea, it would seem to me most unfortunate not to keep the UN symbol to the forefront. This would be a tremendous gain for the Communist side which has throughout sought to obtain a virtual western repudiation of the UN at least in its Korean role. It seems to me that if the Communists succeed in this they will have gained at Geneva a repudiation of the very principle for which so many UN members made great sacrifices. We have to our own people justified their sacrifices on the ground that it was worthwhile for Americans to fight and die to establish for the first time in history the workability of an organization for collective security. Those representations will sound hollow if in the end we should seem virtually to repudiate that organization by compromising with the Communist view that the UN must be ignored as itself a tool of aggression.

[Page 335]

I have at this length indicated my own reaction because it may suggest to you the most effective line of presentation which you of course will use or adapt at your discretion.

Murphy
  1. Repeated for information to Tokyo, Seoul, and New York, as telegrams 2658. 970, and 616, respectively.
  2. Infra .
  3. Dated May 31, p. 326.