Volta
PoliticsMarch 1946 – 1947

US–Soviet Joint Commission

The US and the Soviet Union met twice to form a provisional government but could not agree on which groups to consult, and the talks broke down.

Opening of the first Joint US-Soviet Commission at Deoksugung Palace, Seoul, 20 March 1946
Opening of the first Joint US-Soviet Commission at Deoksugung Palace, Seoul, 20 March 1946

미군정청 · Public domain · Source

The first Joint Commission opened in March 1946 at Seokjojeon in Deoksugung. The Soviets wanted to consult only groups that supported the Moscow decision; the Americans insisted anti-trusteeship groups be included, and in May the talks adjourned indefinitely. During the break, in June 1946, Syngman Rhee said at Jeongeup that "a provisional government or committee should be organized, even if only in the south" (the Jeongeup speech).

The second commission met in May 1947 but broke down over the same issue, and the US referred the Korean question to the United Nations.

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States and rulers at the time
US Army Military Government in Korea
Soviet Civil Administration
United States — President Harry S. Truman
Soviet Union — Leader Joseph Stalin
Places
Seokjojeon, Deoksugung Palace

People

  • Syngman Rhee1875 – 1965

    related figure · First President of the Provisional Government, who worked through diplomacy in the US; later first President of the Republic of Korea

Before and after

Earlier
1946 Land Reform in the North
Later
1946 Syngman Rhee's Jeongeup Speech