sought both financial and material assistance from the PRC for an invasion of the south.[1] Kim Il Sung’s renewed militancy, as well as the situation in Vietnam, led to a reconsideration of the termination of the UN Command by the United States and South Korea.

Although the US and China shared a common desire to improve the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the two sides were unable to find a mutually agreeable policy to achieve this objective in the early 1970s.[2] Given the difficulties in Sino-US relations, the US Department of State was tasked with analyzing and devising approaches which could improve the working relationship with their Chinese counterparts regarding regional issues, particularly the Korean question. China, however, proved to be uncooperative on issues which were directly linkedKorean Peninsula which centered on achieving the peaceful coexistence of the “Two Koreas” and supporting the entry of both countries into the United Nations as full members. The Japanese Foreign Ministry also suggested a direct dialogue between the United States and North Korea for exploratory purposes, which would eventually lead to a US-DPRK-ROK dialogue aimed at achieving a peace treaty. Although South Korea had an interest in participating in any US-DPRK dialogue, the Miki administration was more interested in bringing North Korea to the discussion table.

Interestingly, the Miki administration’s policy represented in the documents seems to reflect both the North and South Korean positions at the time. South Korea had maintained, since “the special declaration for foreign policy” on June 23, 1973, that North and South Korea ought