FRUS 1950, Korea, vol. VII, Document 17

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Document 17 Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Korea, Volume VII 123 Muccio, John J.: Telegram The Ambassador in Korea ( Muccio ) to the Secretary of State confidential Seoul , March 29, 1950—4 p. m. 412. Re Deptel 278, March 23. Brief consultation would be most useful and timely. In addition to inflationary situation and political developments I think it desirable to discuss aspects of NSC policy paper, 1 MDAP , future of KMAG and ECA , etc. While there are many disturbing developments in situation here, there are equally a number of favorable developments. Projected elections in late May, how they are conducted and their outcome may mark an important turn in developments. I feel consultation should be at earliest in order I may return here well before holding of elections. Present time is not propitious for making statement on lack of cooperation ROK for following reasons. While recommendations of Economic Stabilization Committee during past two months have encountered [Page 38] many frustrations and delays, some progress has been attained especially during past two weeks and with constant pushing many other measures may be accepted. Some of the results to date are as follows: a . Food program for current season accepted and now in operation. b . Agreement on program for purchase and distribution cereals in 1950/51 also of basic importance to economy. c . Agreement on procedure for disposition of vested property. d . Passage of measure to implement land reform which Ministry Agriculture says can be gotten underway this season. e . Agreement on pricing of aid supplies. f . Agreement on proposals for elimination of certain subsidies to Government enterprises. g . Agreement on balanced budget for 1950/51 now before the assembly. h . Agreement on Dai Han Coal Corporation. Latter two have been affected greatly in recent days by delaying tactics, but still hopeful they can be passed by this assembly. Admittedly results, excepting current year food plan, are yet in paper stage. But progress is being made and we have all pushed Korean counterparts as strongly as possible, and almost to breaking point at times. Therefore, to make statement on lack of cooperation ROK at this moment would in my opinion not serve helpful purpose and, in fact, might react discouragingly on Korean members of ESC who have gone along with us at times under tremendous opposition. If there should be a serious hitch in implementing propositions already agreed upon by ESC prior to my departure, public statement would be warranted. I propose to inform President Rhee and few keymen in cabinet and in National Assembly in general way reasons impelling Department to call me back to Washington. Muccio Reference is to NSC 8/2, approved March 23, 1949; for text, see Foreign Relations , 1949, vol. vii , Part 2, p. 969 . ↩ Contents Preface Note on sources List of abbreviations and symbols Events prior to the outbreak of hostilities, January 1–June 24, 1950 (Documents 1–58) The outbreak of hostilities in Korea; response of the United States and the United Nations to events in Korea, June 24–30, 1950 (Documents 59–185) The period of the North Korean offensive, July 1–September 15, 1950: British and Indian efforts at mediation; United Nations activities concerning Korea; the problem of the 38th parallel (Documents 186–516) The period of the United Nations offensive, September 16–November 28, 1950: the problem of the 38th parallel; United Nations activities concerning Korea; the question of intervention by the People’s Republic of China (Documents 517–887) The period from November 28 to December 31, 1950: Chinese Communist intervention in Korea; the Korean question in the United Nations; the Truman-Attlee discussions; retreat of the United Nations forces (Documents 888–1103) Index Persons Abbreviations & Terms ECA ESC KMAG MDAP N.S.C. ROK Historical Documents About the Foreign Relations Series Status of the Foreign Relations Series History of the Foreign Relations Series Foreign Relations Ebooks Other Electronic Resources Guide to Sources on Vietnam, 1969-1975 Citing the Foreign Relations series Cite this resource --> Learn more Home Search FAQ Topics Historical Documents Department History Countries Contact About Us Contact Us Policies Accessibility Statement Privacy Policy External Link Policy Copyright Information Content Warning Office of the Historian, Shared Knowledge Services, Bureau of Administration United States Department of State [email protected] Report an issue on this page -->