795.00/7–2051
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense (Marshall)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: The Department of State entirely concurs with the view expressed in your letter of July 20, 1951, to the effect that preparations should now be made for a political and diplomatic settlement immediately upon an armistice in Korea being implemented.
As you are aware, the Department of State is regularly consulting with all of the Governments participating in the military action in [Page 738] Korea with the objective of concerting support for United States policy toward the conduct of hostilities and following the termination of hostilities, if an armistice arrangement is concluded.
It is the view of the Department of State that if an armistice agreement is concluded it should promptly be transmitted to the UN by a special report from the Unified Command submitted in accordance with the Security Council resolution of July 7, 1950, and should shortly be followed by some official UN action noting the agreement with approval. It is the view of the Department that this could best be accomplished by a UN resolution which would make reference to the previous pertinent resolutions of the UN, note with approval the armistice agreement which confirms that the armed attack against the ROK has been repelled, that fighting has come to an end, that international peace and security are being restored in the area, and would reaffirm the UN purpose of seeking to bring about by peaceful means a unified, democratic and independent Korea.
Further political or diplomatic action looking toward a settlement of the Korean problem is, of course, under constant study and you will be kept informed of plans in this regard. The Department of State wishes to point out, of course, that a final political settlement of the Korean problem will require agreement by the Communists, an agreement which will be difficult to achieve. For this reason, as noted in paragraph 2b of the instructions of June 29, 1951,1 to General Ridgway regarding the armistice, it is of the utmost importance that any armistice arrangement be acceptable to us over an extended period of time, in the event no progress is made, despite our efforts, in reaching an agreement on political and territorial questions.
Sincerely yours,