January 17, 1953

Sir,
In reply to your note of 12 January 1953 referring to the Proclamation issued by the President of the Republic of Korea on January 18, 1952, I have the honour to express the views of this Government, clarifying the points as misconceived and misgiven by the British Government.
You are advised that the Presidential Proclamation, apart from its wording, involve. no claim to territorial waters as so misconstrued by the British Government, but proclaims the sovereignty over the continental shelf adjacent to the peninsular and insular coasts of the national territory and establishment of fishing conservation zone in which fishing and marine hunting industries are to be placed under supervision of this Government.
The continental shelf envisaged in the Proclamation it meant to be defined subject to the geographical sense of that word and accordingly has no connection with the lineation put forth in the chart annexed to the Proclamation. It, therefore, makes no claim to sovereignty over the continental shelf beyond the 100 fathom line.
As for the fishing conservation zone declared around the territory of the Republic of Korea, it is the view of this Government that a coastal State should be empowered to establish a marine zone where that State should regulate and control fishing activities, as done in many cases of the international precedents of the same nature, pending the agreements between the States concerned or when they are unable to agree among themselves, for the purpose of preventing the resources of sea from extermination.
In this connection, inviting your attention to the considerations which led this Government to issue the said Proclamation in view of its bitter memory of foreign fishers engaged in fishing in the sea adjacent to this territory, I take this opportunity to assuage such misgivings as might be entertained by the British Government in saying that it is the intention of this Government to render needless any anxiety on the part of the British Government about its interests or those of its nationals, for if any rule promulgated or any measure taken to implement the said Proclamation should be activated against any one in the said marine zone, it would be only against those who would act as reckless despoilers or as shields for such despoilers, whom the past experience has taught the Koreans to regard with deep suspicion as detrimental to the effective preservation of marine fauna in their adjacent seas.
You are further informed that this Government with deep concern has taken note of your statement "it is also relevant to recall that ..... Korea .... whose territory is that part of the Korean peninsula in which free elections were held under the observation of the United Nations Temporary Commission".
Accept, Sir, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

 

Chung Whan Cho Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs