COPY

Tokyo, June 30, 1958

No.79
Excellency:
I beg to acknowledge with appreciation the receipt of Your Excellency's letter No.38 of June 27, 1958.
1. As I mentioned in my last report (No.78 of June 26), this office was able to obtain a copy of the stenographic record of the Lower House Budgetary Committee session on June 24, at which interpolations and answers were exchanged with regard to the Korea-Japan talks which are now underway. A copy of the record is being forwarded to the Foreign Ministry under separate cover.
2. Subsequent to above, at the Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee session held on June 27, where Ambassador Sawada was summoned to answer questions concerning his remark reportedly as at some private meeting on June 11. The remark in question concerned the current Korea-Japan talks of which Amb. Sawada is Chief Japanese Delegate and is reported to have stated in effect that the Japanese side should make as mach concession to the Korean side as possible, instead of siding militarily the ROK to push northward up to the Yalu...
In reply to questions by Socialist interpellator Onishi at Friday's session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Sawada reportedly stated that he had accepted the present post as the chief Japanese delegate in the hope that not only the pending problems with the ROK would be solved but political and diplomatic efforts be made toward unifying the south and north Korea in line with the UN resolution after normal relations had been established between the ROK and Japan. Sawada, however, explained to the Committee that he did not mean that the 38th Parallel should be pushed northward by force but merely that it would disappear if the UN resolution was implemented. He finally yielded to the Socialist attacks and retracted the phrase "push back the 38th Parallel to the Yalu."
In the course of his replies, Sawada also made it clear that the current talks with our side was being conducted on the assumption that the ROK Government was the only representative one in whole Korea, from legal standpoint.
3. During the past week, the fifth session of the Sub-committee on Vessels was held on June 27, as scheduled, at the Japanese Foreign Office. Proceedings of the session has already been reported to the Government by cable from the Chief Delegate, Amb. Limb. To retrace its result briefly, our side, as instructed by the Foreign Minister's cable, took note of the Japanese proposition that the so-called 141 fishing boats would be referred to the higher level and would not be taken up at the Subcommittee, unless otherwise decided at the higher level.
The Subcommittee which started debate on the adoption of the agenda, was adjourned until June 30, as the Japanese side failed to reply immediately to our proposal that a phrase "...fishing vessels detained in Korea as of November 6, 1951" be added to the agenda item d. The Japanese side further stated that it would study on this matter and reply at the next session.
4. This office is trying to get a copy of the stenographic record of the interpallations and answers exchanged between the Socialist interpolators and Amb. Sawada and will send it to the Government, when obtained.
With sentiments of loyalty and esteem, I remain,

Most respectfully,
Y.I.K