December 14, 1957

Dear Mr. Gallopin
This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 3, 1957, in which on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross you propose a plan for the release and repatriation of Korean and Japanese detainees independent of the political problems now under discussion between the Governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan.
It is the view of my Government that the suggestion of the Committee seems to be based upon a misunderstanding of the complex nature of the problems from which the Korea -Japan detainee issue stems.
My Government has been patiently seeking the solution of these problems for several years in a long series of discussions with the Japanese Government. Those negotiations are still continuing, and it is the Korean view that if the Japanese Government will demonstrate humanitarianism and sincerity, the major issues can be quickly settled and the detainees released.
It must be kept in mind that during the last two years, the Korean Government has agreed - on at least two occasions - to release of the detainees on a basis of mutuality. The Japanese Government failed to keep those agreements, and that is the only reason why the detainees are still held.
But the Japanese Government persisted in its refusal to release those held at Omura and Hamamatsu, even though some of the Koreans there - including women and children - had been incarcerated for years. Very few of these Koreans are guilty of crimes, and almost none of them have been charged, tried, convicted, or duly sentenced.
In contrast to this, every Japanese fisherman at Pusan has received the full protection of due process of law. The ailing and the infirm have been repatriated by the unilateral action of this Government. An inspection committee of ICRC had very little fault to find with conditions at the Pusan camp, in sharp difference to the reprimands dealt Japan for the living circumstances at Omura.
The detainees problem is a political as well as a humanitarian issue. This was indicated by the decision of the Japanese delegation to the International Red Cross conference in New Delhi last October and November to withdraw a draft resolution calling for release of the detainees.
The Japanese position appeared to be that it was inappropriate for the Red Cross to take up the detainee issue, aside from such action as was involved in the inspection of the camps.
Additionally, my Government must take into consideration all the possible effects upon the more than 600,000 Koreans who are legal residents of Japan. Their interests must be protected not only now, hut for the future.
Under these circumstances, it is the view of the Korean Government that the intervention by a third party or parties at this time might prejudice the success of the negotiations to release the detainees and solve other related questions.
Such intervention might have the opposite of the desired effect, and so complicate the differences between the two countries that worsened relations would result.
However, my Government assures the International Red Cross that it will continue, as in the past, to do its patient best to attain a solution through bilateral negotiation, and that it will never lose sight of the humanitarian interest to which both the Korean and Japanese detainees are entitled.

Sincerely yours,

Chung W. Cho Minister

Mr. R. Galiopin
Executive Director
International Committee of the Red Cross
Geneva, Switzerland