CONFIDENTIAL SECURITY INFORMATION
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subject. This was done in response to the ROK protest of the alleged bombing of Dokdo Island by a United States military plane. The United States note of December 4, 1952 states:
- "The Embassy has taken note of the statement contained in the Ministry's Note that 'Dokdo Island (Liancourt Rocks).....is a part of the territory of the Republic of Korea.' The United States Government's understanding of the territorial status of this island was stated in Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk's note to the Korean Ambassador in Washington dated August 10,1951."
At the same time this note was sent it was hoped that this mEre reiteration of our previously expressed views would withdraw us from the dispute and might discourage the Republic of Korea from "intruding a gratuitous issue in the already difficult JapanESE-Korean negotiations." Apparently our efforts to date have not had the desired effect.
Should the present efforts of the Japanese Government to solve the dispute on an amicable basic by direct negotiation with the Republic of Korea fail, there are several courses of action open to the Japanese Government.
a) Request for United States Mediation — In the event the Japanese Government were to request the United States to act as mediator, not only would the concurrence of the ROK have to be obtained, but the United States would be placed in the embarrassing position (notwithstanding the facts in the case) of seeming to choose between Japan or Korea. As usual, the role of the mediator is not a happy one. In view of this and of United States requirements and obligations to both these countries, it is believed preferable for the United States to extricate itself from the dispute to the greatest extent possible.
b) Submission to the International Court of Justice — Notwithstanding the fact that neither Japan nor the Republic of Korea is a member of the United Nations, both may be parties in a case before the ICJ provided that both agree to comply with the conditions laid down by the Security Council. At present these conditions are that both states would deposit with the Registrar of the International Court of Justice a declaration accepting the Court's jurisdiction in accordance with the UN Charter and the Statute and Rules of the Court, undertaking to a amply in good faith with the Court's decision and accepting the obligations of a Member of the United Nations under Article 94 of the Charter. The difficulty with this plan would seem to be whether Japan could obtain the concurrence of the Republic of Korea to join with Japan in presenting the dispute to the International Court of Justice and if this were done, whether the ROK would abide by decision of the ICJ if it were negative.
CONFIDENTIAL SECURITY INFORMATION
