795.00/4–353
Memorandum by the Secretary of State1
I have a memorandum from the President dated April 2 in relation to the Korean talks.2 The President makes the point that we must take a lesson from past experience before opening up again the long and dreary process of negotiations that might easily repeat the whole history of the past year and a half. We should use the matter of exchange of the sick and wounded as a sort of test of good faith on the part of the Soviets.
This position is a matter which the President and I have discussed at some length and on which we both feel strongly. The President would prefer that the entire process of exchange be a completed fact before any broader negotiations are undertaken. However, I believe that if the exchange of prisoners was actually under way to such a degree that subsequent moves could not frustrate the exchange, it might be appropriate to open broader negotiations at that point. However, this is a point that we would have to discuss when the time came.