795.00/6–2953
No. 116
Memorandum of Conversation, by the
Secretary of State
Memorandum of Conversation with the Chinese Ambassador, Dr. Koo
The Ambassador said he had been instructed by the Generalissimo to say that his recent messages to the President were designed only to promote solidarity between anti-Communist elements and he hoped that his messages had not been misunderstood.
I reported on the Korean situation and the danger to the whole anti-Communist position in the East if Rhee should force a break with the United States. The Ambassador said he had been informed by the Generalissimo of the conversation which Rankin had had with the Generalissimo on this point.
The Ambassador asked about the composition of the anti-Communist elements at a political conference if there were one. I said that this would be a subject primarily to be settled between President Rhee and ourselves, but that I was already clear that the United States ought not to be in a position where it would be a minority member of the UN Delegation, subject to being overruled by the vote of others. The Ambassador expressed his satisfaction.
The Ambassador asked as to what would be the subjects that might be taken up at the political conference. I said that we would expect the conference to confine itself to Korea except that it might deal with the point that the President and I had made, namely, that the Korean armistice would fail of its purpose if it merely released Chinese forces for aggression elsewhere. He had particularly in mind Indochina. I said I did not expect that the conference would take up the question of Formosa and the admission of the Red China Government to the United Nations. I said that on this latter point, we had recently made our views known to the non-Communist members of the United Nations. The Ambassador expressed gratification.