Office of the Historian

795.00/12–2851: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France

top secret
priority
Washington, December 28, 1951—4:59 p. m.

3702. Request Emb do all possible expedite reply Deptels 35891 and 36642 re statement on Korea. Favorable replies thus far recd from [Page 1458] UK, Australia, Canada, Greece and Turkey.3 Progress armistice negots requires decision re statement soonest and US Govt continues attach highest importance to agreement on its issuance.4

Acheson
  1. See footnote 1, p. 1373.↩
  2. Not printed. It conveyed to Paris the text of the revised final paragraph of the U.S. draft statement, as contained in telegram 3050, December 26, to London, p. 1453.↩

  3. On December 28, George Laking, Counselor of the New Zealand Embassy, left with U. Alexis Johnson an aide-mémoire setting forth his Government’s acceptance of the text of the revised American statement with the understanding that further consultations would take place on measures to be employed if the armistice were broken. New Zealand felt that under no circumstances would the use of the atomic bomb be warranted and also expressed doubt about the wisdom and value of a blockade of the China coast. (795.00/12–2851)

    On December 29, the Department informed the Embassy in Capetown of the acceptance by the South African Government of the text of the revised American statement (telegram 32 to Capetown, December 29; 795.00/12–2951).

    ↩
  4. On December 28, the Department instructed the Embassy in the Netherlands to expedite a reply concerning acceptance of the revised American statement (795.00/12–2951). On the same day, the Embassy in Bangkok was asked to obtain the views of the Thai Prime Minister on the statement (telegram 1332, December 28, to Bangkok; 795.00/12–2851).↩