890.20/5–2849
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Counselor of the Embassy in Korea (Drumright)1
Mr. Drumright saw the Korean Foreign Minister2 at a dinner given by the British Minister last evening. Mr. Drumright engaged the Foreign Minister in conversation following the dinner. He said that according to a Seoul newspaper report of May 25, the Foreign Minister was quoted as saying that a Pacific Pact would be concluded at the earliest possible time for the purpose of maintaining Asian and world peace. Mr. Drumright told the Foreign Minister that he would be grateful for any information which the Foreign Minister could give him with respect to this subject.
The Foreign Minister said it was the thought of his Government that a Pacific Pact was desirable. He went on to say that some preliminary steps had been taken with a view to initiating discussions among concerned Pacific area countries. He said further that the matter of a Pacific Pact was being discussed at the present time between the Korean and Philippine Governments. The Foreign Minister then spoke of the Asiatic components of the British Commonwealth of Nations, saying that they could provide a valuable nucleus on which to develop a Pacific Pact. The Foreign Minister said that he expected to discuss this prospect with the British Minister shortly. The Foreign Minister then mentioned the countries which he thought might be interested in a Pacific Pact. These are: Korea, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Siam, Canada, and several countries along the west coast of Central and South America.
[Page 1146]The Foreign Minister expressed the view that the United States could not very well object to the discussion of a Pacific Pact among the nations he had just mentioned. Should the discussions have fruitful results, he expected that the countries concerned might then approach the United States with the request that it participate.
(Mr. Drumright gathered from his conversation with the Foreign Minister that the discussions referred to by the Foreign Minister have hitherto been limited to an exchange of views with the Philippine Government. It would appear that if the prospects seem favorable, these two countries might take the initiative in the calling of a conference of the Pacific nations mentioned above to discuss the conclusion of a Pacific Pact.)