February 17, 1959

Dear Sir:
As you indicate in your editorial of February 14, am acutesituation, has arisen in the relations of The Republic of Korea and Japan caused by the unilateral decision of the Japanese that they will ship many of our nationals resident in Japan. to the communist authorites in northern part of Korea.
Your concern over the seriousness of this situation is fully justified. What is important is that the problem must be seen in context. The problem is none of our making, nor is the impasse that has arisen through failure to solve it.
On the one hand the question involves problems of humaritarian decency and simple morality. On the other, it deeply concerns the world-wide struggle of free nations to resist the insidious tide of communist imperialism. Both questions merit honest consideration
For the record, the Korea-Japanese negotiations, seeking to re-establish normal relations between our two countries, were about to be resumed, following a year's-end recess. It is definitely our policy that these talks should result in success. For this purpose President Rhee has made several trips to Japan. We still want these talks to succeed. In this, the free-world interests and our Korean interests are the same. All we ask is that the problems be solved with equity.
Prior to and during World War II Japan took some two millions of our people to her islands, in order to meet her desperate labor shortage before and during her aggression against China, America and other countries. These people uprooted themselves from their homes in return for promises of security that were not kept. After 1945, over one million of them rcterned to Korea. At present some 630,000 to 700,000 of them remain in Japan. Many are impovrished and face a frigid dicc▣...▣ion in ▣...▣ing,; to ▣...▣ ▣...▣:, It is the position of our Government ▣h▣▣ ▣...▣ ▣...▣s these Korean nationals a fair right to earn a liring in this land in they were teken under Japanese duress, If a fair opportunity were accorded them, the whole problem would evaporate.
Now, seeking to avoid responsibility for these people, the Japanese Government has permitted communist agents to work actively among them, spreading false stories of job—promises and wonderful opportunities in the "workers' paradise" of northern part of Korea which is under communist domination. The people Who have been deluded by these stories are not communists they are only impoverished nationals. They need and deserve our protection. just as do our nationals resident in Korea. We do not intend to desert them or allow them to be shipped into communist slavery.
Parallelling the duty we have to these Koreans in Japan is the duty Japan has to us. According to the United Nations resolution of 1948, the Republic of Korea is the only legal government in Korea. The north Korean communist regime, on the contrary, has been branded by the United Nations as an outlaw regime, guilty of aggression. Yet in seeking to arrange for shipment of these Korean residents to northern part of Korea,
Japan is by-passing our Government and is according de facto recognition to the north Korean communist puppet regime. This problem is fully as acute in Korea as it is in Germany.
We must not, any of us, allow the illegally-imposed communist regimes to creep into respectability through the back door.
Your editorial states chat bilateral negotiation has failed," So far as we are concerned this need not be true. What has happened is that Japan, Unilaterally, has removed this question of the welfare of our Korean nationals from the agenda of the bilateral negotiations. She is pretending that this is a matter of no concern to us. She has refused to settle this matter with us, but is threatening to resolve it by acceding to the seductive pleas of the outlawed north Korean communist regime. So far as Japan is concerned, she is pretending that the negotiations are tripartite, not bilateral_- and she is seeking to avoid responsibilities by yielding a subterfuge recognition to the communist regime in northern part of Korea (at the of the sacrifice welfare of our Korean nationals).
The solution to this problem is not complicated.
Does Japan deny that these Koreans are in Japan at her behest? If so, let her say so honestly, and be confronted by the facts. Does Japan want to deny the position taken by the United Nations end thus far by her own Government, and accord recognition to the communist regime in northern part of Korea ? If so she should openly avow this intent and thus divide herself from her free-world allies openly. Does Japan wish our bilateral negotiation to succeed? If so, Why not keep it bilateral leaving the communist regime in its outlaw status.
Two questions deserve serious consideration, if we are to understand the problems posed in the foregoing paragraph. First, Why. did Japan raise the question at all of sending our Korean nationals to an inhuman communist regime? and second, why did she choose to raise this question at the very time the recessed talks were about to be resumed?

Sincersly yours,

Pyo Wook Han Minister

Editor The New York Times
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New York, New York