South Korean Ambassador Asserts U.S. Future Lies in Area of Pacific

"America's future in foreign policy lies in the Pacific--not in Europe," You Chan Yang, South Korean Ambassador to the United States, told a U.N. Council Forum last night.

Speaking with Yang at Burr Hall yesterday was Edwin O. Reischauer, professor of Far Eastern Languages.

Elaborating on his beliefs concerning foreign policy, Yang noted that Europe has the technical ability which Eastern countries lack, and hence can supply itself to a large extent through its own industry. Thus, he explained, Asia is becoming America's most important market.

Yang, who will represent his country next week at the Geneva Conference, stated that once the Communists "close the fence" around Asia, the free world cannot hope to regain entrance. "We must unite to stop this monster," he concluded.

Yang compared the current status of Korea with that of the United States during the American Revolution. If we have to, we will "go it alone," he added. "When I am asked if this would be suicidal, I reply yes. But it would be a good fight. The Koreans would give everything in the world to fight for liberty, freedom, and the decency of life."

Indochina Independence

Asked to elaborate on the possibilities of independence for Indochina, Yang answered that there is no doubt that Indochina can be independent. The Vietnamese will shoulder the responsibility without trouble, although it may require a few years of struggle.

Reischauer, speaking on the same problem as Yang, came to different conclusions concerning Indochina. "It is too late to find the happy answer," he said. The Vietnamese are not fighting for their independence, and should France grant them this, he explained, the European country would probably pull out of the war at the same time.

Reischauer was equally pessimistic concerning next week's conference at Geneva. There is no hope for anything coming out of the meetings, he explained, since China will only give way in Korea on terms that we obviously will not meet.

Reischauer began his talk by tracing the background for the current problems in Korea. The United States, he said, recognized from the beginning that the liberation of Korea was to be one of our main goals in World War II. But we failed to meet the problems implicit in such a move, he added.