741.022/1–1051: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom
priority niact
3337. We assume that the proposals of the Commonwealth PriMins are related to a cease-fire, along the lines of the discussions we have had with the Cease-fire Comite in NY. We have told the Cease-fire Comite, other UN Dels, and indeed, Peiping, that we are prepared to use processes of peaceful settlement of outstanding issues in the Far East and that we wld be willing to include reps of the Peiping regime in those processes. Specifically, we have told the Cease-fire Comite that we wld not oppose the five principles which they are considering putting foward.
If the omission of any ref to a cease-fire in the Commonwealth msg reflects the view that fighting in Korea wld continue during the proposed negots (which wld require several weeks to organize and carry out), then we are deeply disturbed and wld like to know what the Commonwealth PriMins envisage as the outcome. If the negots [Page 51] which are proposed are to be carried on with an expanding area of Korea under Commie occupation, there is no chance that the Commies wld allow themselves to be negotiated out of Korea.…