Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT(Naval Aide) 296 the OFFICE OF DECLASSIFIED THE SECRETARY OF STATE E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 WASHINGTON State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 By DEB NLT, Date 9-6-85 D.cemper 13, 1951 TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS KOREANARMISTICE We have received a inemorandum from the Bri- tish Foreign Office commenting on a proposed statement of warning to be made in case we should accept an armistice in Korea which provides less than the desired degree of security for UN forces against renewed aggression. Our draft statement, phrased to be a collective statement made by all countries with forces participating in the Korean war, stated inter alia our common resolution that "aggression committed again in Korea will bring upon any country whose forces are involved the full retribution without geographic limitation it will in justice have earned. " The British agree that no warning statement should be made if a reasonably satisfactory supervision arrangement can be written into the armistice agreement. The decision as to whether a warning statement is necessary should not be taken until the time of the signing of the armistice agreement and the form and wording of the state- ment could not be settled finally until that time. The Foreign Office feels that our draft statement is 11too positive and menacing" and proposes a re- draft to read: "If another act of aggression were to challenge again the principles of the United Nations, we should again be united and prompt to resist. Should aggression be committed again in Korea, the consequences would be so grave that it might then prove impossible to confine hostilities within the frontiers of Korea. " The British also point out that it would be particularly unfortunate if we on our side issued our "warning statement" without making any constructive proposals for the next stage, while at the same time the Russians and Chinese put forward apparently reasonable proposals for a Korean settlement. The memorandum adds that the Canadian, Aus- - tralian, New Zealand and South African Governments have already been informed of the earlier exchanges of view between the US and the UK on this question, and the UK feels that these Dominion governments must be kept informed of the further progress of the discussions. TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION