795.00/5–853
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson)1
top secret
[Washington,] May 8, 1953.
Subject:
- Korea
At the White House luncheon today of General Bedell Smith and myself with the President the situation was thoroughly discussed and the following general decision reached by the President:
- 1.
- We should adhere to the provisions of the Indian Resolution with reference to the neutral commission and with reference to the ultimate disposition of prisoners of war not willing to be repatriated. We would accept as a practical deviation—and one which we in fact ourselves feel necessary—the communist proposal which will allow custody of prisoners to be taken in situ rather than the provision contemplating their transportation to the deneutralized [demilitarized] zone which would in fact be quite impractical, given the large number of prisoners.
- 2.
- The President did not seem to feel that the presence of Polish and Czech troops would necessarily be unacceptable under proper safeguards and particularly if they were only on the two islands where the prisoners were.
J. F.
D.
- This memorandum was also addressed to Johnson and it was initialed by Dulles.↩