NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PROJECT Document Reader
New Evidence on the Korean War Edited by James Person June 2010
NEW EVIDENCE ON THE KOREAN WAR
NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
DOCUMENT READER
Prepared for the conference:
New Documents and New Histories: Twenty-First Century Perspectives on the Korean War
June 16-17, 2010 Harry S. Truman Presidential Library Independence, Missouri
Organized by
The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
and
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ North Korea International Documentation Project
Dear Participant
The North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP) is pleased to present you with this “document reader,” which is intended to facilitate and enrich the discussion at the June 16-17 conference “New Documents and New Histories: Twenty-First Century Perspectives on the Korean War,” held at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. The volume consists of select Russian and Polish archival documents that we hope will provide context for discussion on the Korean War as we mark the 60th anniversary of the conflict.
The collection, compiled by NKIDP is by no means comprehensive, however, in selecting the materials, the editors sought to include some of the most important materials available and made a substantial effort to mine relevant official archives. The document reader is organized chronologically, starting with March 1949 and ending in April 1954.
In compiling these documents, the editors received much appreciated cooperation and assistance from scholars from several countries, reflecting the multinational scope of this project. NKIDP is particularly grateful to Jakub Poprocki for contributing documentation from the Polish Foreign Ministry Archives and Dongkil Kim for contributing new Russian documents. The document reader would not have been ready for distribution had it not been for the diligence of NKIDP interns Kathleen Harrington, Lauren Sungeun Bae, Scott LaFoy, and Will Treece. For his sage advice, the editors would also like to thank Jongdae Shin. The editors are especially grateful to the Korea Foundation, whose support made the translation of many of the documents contained in this reader possible. Last but not least, the editors would like to thank the Hon. Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Dr. Michael Van Dusen, Deputy Director, for providing Center resources for additional document translations.
NKIDP is part of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program, directed by Christian F. Ostermann. The Project was launched in 2006 in cooperation with the University of North Korean Studies (Seoul).
James F. Person Coordinator, NKIDP
Christian F. Ostermann Director, History and Public Policy Program New Evidence on the Korean War
List of Documents
1949
1) 18 March: Excerpt from the minutes of a VKP(b) CC Politburo meeting.
2) 20 April: Memorandum of the USSR Minister of the Armed Forces and the Chief of the General Staff to the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers
3) 18 May: Telegram, Leader of the Group of Soviet Specialist in Northeast China to the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers about the Results of the Chinese-Korean talks on Military Cooperation
4) 15 September: Memorandum, Soviet ambassador to the DPRK to the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.
5) 26 October: [Top Secret] Telegram, Joseph Stal