1月 20日
長官
次官
局長

January 20, 1958

Dear Mr. Ambassador:
I have been instructed by His Excellency the President to acknowledge the receipt of your report No.42 dated January 16, 1958 referring to the implementation of the terms agreed upon at the conclusion of the preliminary talks.
In the said report, you pointed out particularly three issues which, in your view, will be controversial at the working committee. You hove been already advised of basic stand of our Government on three issues through a series of instructions dispatched since the conclusion of the preliminary talks. However, it seems necessary to supplement again the previous government instructions so that you can successfully conduct at the working committee.
I must reiterate our position on the question of those Koreans in Japan without travel documents. Our position is that Japan should repatriate all of them whether they are under detention or not under detention. Regardless of number of those Koreans, our Government is determined to be firm on this policy.
According to your report, it is wise for us not to take up the question of more than 2,000 Koreans at this stage, firstly because it is linked to the question of 'Koreans of a certain category' whom Japan may try to protect in her territory, and secondly because the deportation of more than 2,000 Koreans not under detentioon) at this stage will no doubt cause not a little confusion among the local Korean populace. But as to the question of 'Koreans of a certain category', I am afraid you are too much preoccupied with the general principle of international law on extradition' disregarding the historical reality lying between Korea and Japan. Moreover, I can hardly understand why the deportation of the Koreans in this paragraph "will no doubt cause not a little confusion am/ the local Korean populace." In this connection, we do not agree with you on the interpretation of Article 2 of the Agreed Minutes.
In my letter last week, I expressed our surprise at the Japanese attitude towards those Koreans who allegedly desire to go to north Korea, and our irrevocable position on this question was instructed by the cable ST-910138. But I must remind you again of seriousness of the question which might affect not only the implementation of the other terms agreed on recently but also the basic relations between two Governments. And Japan must not be allowed to send a single Korean to the puppet regime, and at the same time, she must not allow them to remain in Japan at this time. You are instructed to request the Japanese side to give us a clear-cut assurance on record on this question, and give priority to discussion of this question at the working committee.
As for the Korean art objects to be returned to us in accordance with the Oral Statement, you are instructed to send without delay to the Government the list to be submitted by the Japanese side so that it may be finally checked by experts at home.
The Government considers it appropriate that the Mission will issue our registration cards to those Koreans who are released in Japan in accordance with our law. With respect to the Koreans of this category, please see to it that they should be released in Japan without any condition in the spirit of the agreed terms.
As you know it through instructions dispatched twice, the Government is planning to dispatch our investigators to Japan to check person by person people for repatriation. According to your report, Japan may not permit our investigators to enter Japan unless we permit Japanese officials to enter Korea. We do not understand what the Japanese officials are intending to come to korea for On our part, it is indispensable for us to interview the Koreans in question to differentiate among them those post-war category and those sojourning in Japan without travel documents.And doing this, we will save time and confusion.
Repatriation of Japanese fishermen will be made by three times in three groups and the repatriation will be completed before February 14.1958. The Government did not yet decide when we should start repatriation of the first group of them, but we are planning to send the first group shortly before the first group of Koreans is to arrive at Pusan. But you are advised that Korean repatriation will not be received until our investigators complete their checking.
I will not say anything more about a Japanese idea of sending a special envoy or personal letter because I made clear our position in my previous letter.
Aside from the question of the repatriation of Japanese fishermen, the Ministry sent the list of some other Japanese who have served out their sentences in Korean prisons on various charges but are now waiting for repatriation to Japan Those Japanese have nothing to do with the implementation of the terms agreed on recently. But we are planning to seed them to Japan by the same vessels by which the Japanese fishermen will be repatriated for the convenience of transportation. You are instructed to propose this to the Japanese side presenting the list of 17 persons , which the Ministry sent by pouch last week.

Sincerely yours,
Chung W. Cho Minister

Ambassador Yu Taik Kim, Korean Mission in Japan, Tokyo