I stumbled upon this document (in Russian, use Google Translate). It seems to be a translation of the beginning of General Order No. 1 (Wikipedia, Wikisource).
I noticed 2 peculiar differences in paragraph 1b:
- Wikisource version does not mention Kuril Islands at all, Russian document mentions them in paragraph 1b.
- Wikisource version gives division line in Korea as parallel 38° North, in Russian document it’s 38°50’ (hence more land for Americans; about 90 km further North).
I searched this site doc20vek.ru and found two related documents:
- Letter from Stalin to Truman, where Stalin acknowledges he received the text of the order, asks to add Kuril Islands to Soviet zone, and also asks for an occupation zone in Northern half of Hokkaido.
- Response from Truman to Stalin, where he agrees to Kuril Islands, declines the Hokkaido zone and also asks for an American air base in central Kuril Islands.
From this I assume that the order was revised, with Kuril Islands added to paragraph 1b. However, none of the letters mention Korea.
It’s generally known that, between WW2 and Korean War, Korea was divided along 38°00’ parallel, and Soviets received whole Kuril Islands.
So my questions are:
- Whether a revised English version of General Order No. 1, mentioning Kuril Islands, exists, and, if yes,
- Which parallel does it set for division of Korea?