229. Editorial Note
On July 2 the British Chargé d’Affaires in Peking conveyed a note to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on behalf of the countries involved in the United Nations Command in Korea. The British note responded to the Chinese note of May 6 (see Document 221). The British note indicated that the governments for which Britain spoke regretted the Chinese insistence on the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from Korea as a precondition for free elections and reunification of Korea. The governments of the United Nations Command did not believe that withdrawal of United Nations forces without prior provision for a peaceful settlement would lead to a reduction of tension in the Far East. Rather, they felt that “such action would remove one necessary guarantee which exists against further aggression in Korea pending a final settlement.” The note pressed again for a clarification of the principles on which elections in Korea could be held and a political settlement achieved which would permit the withdrawal of United Nations forces. (For text, see Department of State Bulletin, July 28, 1958, page 153)