Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Germany and Austria, Volume VII, Part 1

396 1 BE/2–1554

No. 523
Proposal of the Soviet Delegation¹

top secret

Berlin, February 15, 1954.

The Foreign Ministers of France, the UK, the USSR and the USA, meeting in Berlin,

Taking into account the need to settle definitively the Korean problem on the basis of establishing a unified, independent and democratic Korea as an important step toward the reduction of international tensions and the re-establishment of peace elsewhere in Asia;

Agree to convene a conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries concerned;

Agree further that besides the USA, France, the UK, the USSR and the Chinese Peoples Republic, which shall participate in discussing the questions to be considered at this conference, invitations shall be addressed to the Republic of Korea, the Korean Peoples Democratic Republic and the other countries, the armed forces of which participated in the hostilities in Korea and which would desire to do so, to take part in the conference when the Korean question is considered,

And to the representatives of the appropriate areas of Asia in connection with the consideration of questions regarding the re-establishment of peace elsewhere in Asia (Indochina);

Agree moreover that the following items shall be considered at the conference:

1. Political conference on Korea;

2. Statements by the delegations on other questions mentioned above and an exchange of views on such statements.

1. This proposal was introduced at the fourth restricted meeting on Feb. 15. For a record of that session, see Document 485. This proposal represents a slight revision of the Soviet proposal introduced on Feb. 11, Document 518.