List of Major Players Relevant to the Korean War Telegrams and the NSC,

Report to the President

Soviet Players:
Joseph Stalin: Premier of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union (Bolshevik). Role in USSR: Politician.
Terenti Shtykov: Soviet Ambassador to North Korea (bureaucrat/manager; responsible
day to day administration in Soviet occupied North Korea). Role in USSR: Diplomat.
Andrei Vyshinsky: Soviet Foreign Minister (has direct access to Stalin). Role in USSR:
Diplomat.
Grigorii Ivanovich Tunkin: Charge d Affaires (deputy ambassador that reported to
Shtykov) at Soviet Embassy in Pyongyang. Role in USSR: Diplomat.
Andrei A. Gromyko: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the USSR. Role in USSR:
Diplomat.

Korean Players:
(North Korea):
Kim Il Sung: Chairman of the North Korean Communist Party, Premier of the
Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). The documents refer to him as the
Chairman of the Council of Ministers in some places. Role in North Korea: Politician.
Mun Il: Soviet citizen of Korean descent. Role in North Korea: Liaison (unofficial
diplomat) between North Korea and Soviet Union.
Li Zhou-Yuan: North Korean ambassador to Communist China. Role in North Korea:
Diplomat.
Pak Hon Yong: Foreign Minister of the DPRK. Formerly a Communist partisan/activist
in a peoples committee in South Korea. Role in North Korea: Diplomat with military
(partisan) experience.

(South Korea):
Syngman Rhee: President of South Korea (ROK = Republic of Korea). Note: in Soviet
documents, the authors of the sources follow East Asian custom by referring to him as
Rhee Syngmann. Role in South Korea: Politician.

China:
Mao Tse-tung: Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the Peoples
Republic of China. Note: The Soviet documents refer to him as Mao Zedong. Role in
Communist China: Politician.
Zhou Enlai: Foreign Minister of the Peoples Republic of China. Role in Communist
China: Diplomat.

United States:
Harry S. Truman: President of the United States. After 1948, Truman became
particularly concerned with containing the spread of Communism. Role in USA:
Politician.
General Douglas McArthur: General McArthur oversaw the American occupation of
Japan after WWII. He was also the Commander of the United Nations forces in the
Korean War until April 1951. Role in USA: Military.
Sidney W. Souers: Souers was an Admiral and intelligence expert who was the
Executive Secretary of the National Security Council from 1947-1950. He oversaw the
1948 report issued to President Truman. Role in USA: Military and advisor.

Quick Guide to Abbreviations found in the primary sources:
DPRK: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (socialist, led by Kim Il Sung)
PRC: Peoples Republic of China (socialist, led by Mao Tse-Tung)
P.A. : Peoples ArmyNorth Korean military. Note: Also referred to as KPA or Korean
Peoples Army (socialist)
ROK: Republic of Korea (nationalist, led by Syngman Rhee)

Citation Method for Korean War Documents:
Korean War Telegrams: Please follow the format of: (Sender to Recipient, pg. #). For
example, a quote from the first telegram would be (Shtykov to Vyshinsky, pg. 1).
National Security Council, Report to the President (1948): Please follow the format of
(A Report to the President by the National Security Council, pg. #) for your first citation
of the documents. For subsequent citations, you may abbreviate the document title as:
(NSC, pg. #).