Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NL T ( Navil Aide) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON October 31, 1950 TOP SECRE- SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS KOREA Our Charge in Korea reports that on the basis of information presently available the Eighth Army intelligence section estimates that there are approxi- mately 2,000 Chinese Communists engaged in its sector in the north and northwest part of the Korean peninsula. While the Tenth Corps had reported previously the capture of prisoners of Chinese origin, no recent information has been received with respect to Chinese partici- pation in its area. WESTERN EUROPE After failing to reach a clear-c decision on the question of the contribution of Germany to the defense of western Europe in their meetings of yesterday, the Defense Ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty countries agreed that: 1) the question would be referred to the Council Deputies and to the Military Committee, which would meet together after each group had studied separately the political and military aspects of the problem; and 2) after the joint meeting, the report would be made to the Defense Committee. In the discussions leading to this decision the Belgian Defense Minister discounted certain aspects of the US plan, recommended that the French proposal be considered in its first experimental stage rather than in its extreme form, and proposed a formula to reconcile the positive aspects of the US and French plans. The Minister from Luxembourg supported the Belgian thesis. The Dutch Minister stated that the Netherlands accepted the principle of German rearmament at the division level and deeply regretted French inability to agree and expressed the fear that the French proposal endangered the timely build-up of an adequate European defense. The UK and Italian Defense Ministers made a strong stand in behalf of the US plan. The Norwegian Minister stressed that Germany must make a real contribution to the common defense and that such a contribution must make sense militarily. He felt that the political aspects of the problem could be left to the Council. The Canadian representative expressed the fear that the status of the Germans under the French proposed integrated army would be such as to prevent German popular DECLASSIFIED R State Dept. E.O. 12065, Guidelines, Sec. March 3-402 &, 1982 By DEB NLT, D-10 6-10-85,