Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON DECLASSIFIED State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 August 6, 1951 By DEB NLT, Date 9-5-85 R H I SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS JAPANESE TREATY Prime Minister Yoshida has addressed a letter to Ambassador Dulles requesting officially that special consideration be given in San Francisco to the issuance of a declara- tion by the Allied Powers concerning the fate of Japanese prisoners of war still unrepatriated in Russia and China. Yoshida says there is a deep appre- hension among the Japanese public lest this problem be neglected in the peace treaty. He points out that Article 26 of the draft treaty obligates Japan to conclude a bilateral treaty "on the same or substantially the same terms" as the present treaty with any state not signatory to the present treaty. The Japanese fear that if the Soviet Union or Communist China would propose to conclude a treaty identical with the present treaty with no provision for the repatriation of PWs and civilian detainees, Japan might be obligated to accept it unconditionally. Yoshida requests that Article 26 be redrafted to avoid the possibility of such a contingency. KOREAN TRUCE We have informed our UN Mission in New York that in view of the strong preference expressed by France and the United Kingdom we have agreed that action should be taken by both the Security Council and the General Assembly concerning the Korean armistice, if and when one is obtained. We had earlier main- tained that the General Assembly alone should act on the matter in order to avoid Soviet obstructionist tactics in the Security Council. France and Britain feel, however, that it will be possible to word the Security Council resolution in such a way that the Soviet Union will be unable to veto it with- - out compromising its pose as a "champion of peace", and also that it would weaken the prestige of the Security Council to avoid action by it on a matter of this sort. EGYPT The Counselor and First Secretary of the Egyptian Embassy called on the Department on F `riday and again inquired whether a settlement of the Suez restrictions problem could be arranged outside the Security Council on the basis of alleviation of restrictions for the maritime powers. (The Counselor made clear that this alleviation would still not permit goods to transit the Canal for Israel. ) The