(Enclosure I)
ORAL STATEMENT
It is to be recalled that among approximately two million Koreans residing in Japan as of the time of termination of World War II, about 1.4 millions were repatriated to the Republic of Korea and the rest of them chose settlement in Japan. Naturally with deep concern and in order to safeguard the interests of its residents abroad, the Korean Government has endeavored with sincerity in its talks with the Japanese Government to regulate the status and treatment of those remaining Korean residents.
In these talks, the Korean Government did not request any extraordinary status of those Koreans but requested a fair and humane treatment which those Koreans are entitled to receive. On the other hand, it has been a consistent policy of the Korean Government to receive all those Korean residents in Japan who wished settlement in the Republic of Korea, and it actually has received considerable number of repatriates since the foundation of the Republic. Such being the position of the Korean Government, it has been ready to encourage mass repatriation of Korean residents in Japan if it is assured that the Japanese Government will pay due compensation for these repatriates in view of the special background of their forced migration into Japan and sets no restriction on the property they must carry with them in repatriation.
The Korean Government now considers it urgent to settle once and for all the problem of Korean residents in Japan to prevent the current situation from being further deteriorated, believing that the problem should be and can be settled between the Republic of Korea and Japan with good offices of the United States.
The attention of the U.S. Government is invited to the fact that in 1951 the then-Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers stood between Korea and Japan extending good offices for settlement of the problem of Korean residents in Japan. The Korean Government believes that the United States Government has continued concern on the issue since a settlement of the issue is a great step to better relations between Korea and Japan ultimately leading to the peace of the Northeast Asia.
The Korean Government is ready to resume talks with the Japanese Government at any time and as soon as possible to discuss for settlement the issue if it can see a good prospect of such talks as a result of U.S. good offices.