Memorandum from the State Department to President Harry S. Truman, with Related Material

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ADDF OFFICI/ COMMUNICATIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON 25, D.C. DEPARTMENT OF STATE WASHINGTON This goes into my file HEY DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 State Dept. Guideline, June 12, 1979 SECRET SECURTTY INFORMATION By NLT- DEB NARS, Date 3-25-85 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Korean Resolution in the United Nations General Assembly As you are aware, the United States, along with 20 other sponsors, has introduced into the General Assembly a resolution affirming and endorsing the position taken by the United Nations Command on non-forcible repatriation of prisoners of war. The Indian Delegation to the General Assembly has been very active in attempts to formulate a substitute resolution which would be acceptable to the Chinese Communists. It appears that the Indians are maintaining contact with the Chinese Communists at Peking on the text of various proposals. While the Indians have thus far apparently supported the principle of non-forcible repatriation, they have been attempting to find a formulation acceptable to the Communists and to ourselves which would assuage the alleged Chinese Communist fears that the United Nations Command will coerce and restrain prisoners desiring to return from doing so. The UK has now formulated a text of a resolution based on discussions with the Indians. This resolution, a copy of which is included in the attached telegram 180 of November 12 from New York, in the opinion of the Secretary and the Department goes so far to meet the Communist point of view as to in fact contemplate the ultimate abandonment of the principle of no forced repatriation. The prisoner of war commission cont emplated under the resolution would presumably have to hold indefinitely prisoners resisting repatriation and subject them to Communist haranguing until they give up and decide to go home. That is, the resolution provides for no disposition of the prisoners other than being held indefinitely under the control of the commission or returning to Communist control. The \SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION