The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United Stites of America in Korea and has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the latter's note No.122 of April 1, 1955.
While, in its note, the Embassy first emphasizes that neither of the United States Presidential Proclamations of September 28, 1945 may properly be used as precedents for the Korean action, it should be admitted that the Korean Proclamation of January 18, 1952 follows the same faria ▣ with the former, which explicitly stated the inadequacy of the present arrangements for the protection of the fishery resources contiguous to their coasts, perceiving an urgent need to protect such resources from destructive exploitation.
It is in this sense that the Minister's letter of September 9, 1954,mentioned of in the Embassy's note, cited the United States Proclamations as precedents for the Korean action, even though there is a difference between them which the Ministry again does not fail to notice Still existing, as in the Minister's note of February 13, 1952 addressed to His Excellency Ambassador of the United States.
The Ministry has fully taken note of the interpretation notes by the Embassy reading "Neither of the two Presidential proclamations ..." and the sequent sentences which end in "... as provided in such agreement."
As far Korean Government to the view of the United States Government, as stated in the Embassy's note, that "there is no rule of international law requiring it to recognize as valid actions of coastal states in claiming sovereignty over areas of adjacent waters..", the Ministry wishes to cal the attention of the Embassy to the Minister's note cited above in which the intention of the Government of the Republic of Korea was already clarified.
For the Embassy's information of the views of the Korean Government on the certain points of the Regime of the High Seas, the Ministry encloses herewith a copy of The Views of the Korean Goverment on the Draft Articles on the Continental Sheif and Related Subjects submitted to the International Law Commission of the Uhited Nations at its fifth session in 1953 in reply to the latter's request for such views.
Enclosure: The Views of the Korean Government on the Draft Articles on the Continental Shelf and Related Subjects prepared the United Nations International Law Commission at Its Fifth Session in 1953.
June 27, 1955,
Seoul, Korea,