105. Editorial Note
At its 269th meeting on December 8 the National Security Council discussed the problems posed for the economy of the Republic of Korea by the inflationary pressures created by a large military establishment supported by American aid. The consensus of the members of the NSC was that while the South Korean economy was not strong enough to support the military forces which the South Korean Government considered necessary, it would not do to urge a sudden reduction in the level of South Korean military forces. As Secretary Dulles put it: “Sudden action of this sort might well break the morale of South Korea.” Secretary Wilson noted, however, that the United States was putting into the South Korean economy each year a sum equivalent to the gross national product of South Korea, and he added that it was no wonder that inflation was running at a 25 percent pace in Korea. The long-term solution to the problem, the Council felt, was to convince the Republic of Korea that security actually depended upon the deterrent power of the striking force of the United States, and that South Korean forces could be reduced with safety to a level supportable by the South Korean economy. The full text of the memorandum of discussion by the NSC on December 8 of a “Review of Military Assistance and Supporting Programs” is printed in volume X, pages 44–64.