198. Record of a Meeting, Department of State, Washington, January 18, 1957, 3 p.m.1

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

  • Secretary John Foster Dulles
  • Deputy Under Secretary Robert Murphy
  • Legal Adviser Herman Phleger
  • Assistant Secretary Walter S. Robertson
  • Director, Northeast Asian Affairs, Howard L. Parsons
[Page 388]

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

  • Secretary Charles E. Wilson
  • Deputy Secretary Reuben B. Robertson
  • Assistant Secretary Gordon Gray
  • Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral W. Radford
  • Assistant to Admiral Radford, Captain W. C. Mott
  • (Military Liaison Committee) General Loper

SUBJECT

  • Introduction of [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] into Korea

Deputy Secretary of Defense Robertson opened the meeting by pointing out the fact that the United States Government is spending about one and one-quarter billion dollars a year in Korea. In connection with the desire of the Department of Defense to reduce the volume of this expenditure, the Department of Defense has been anxious to place the most modern weapons in Korea. It is hoped that in the long run this will make it possible to reduce the size of the Korean military forces, thereby enabling the reduction of United States expenditures. Mr. Robertson made the additional point that the type of weapons which had been under discussion between the two departments in connection with Korea is furnished to all United States forces, both inside and outside the United States, except the two divisions in Korea.

Admiral Radford followed with a statement that the Communists have repeatedly violated the terms of the Armistice Agreement, and by such action had thrown the comparative effectiveness of the forces in north and south Korea out of balance. To correct this situation. Admiral Radford indicated that it was necessary to introduce for the use of United States military personnel in Korea modern weapons such as the Nike, the Honest John, 280 mm. guns and the Corporal and Redstone missiles.

Department of State representatives, particularly Mr. Robertson and Mr. Phleger, agreed that the north Koreans have violated the Armistice. However, the evidence which is convincing to the Departments of State and Defense is not in a form which can be used to convince the Swiss and Swedes, who are members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, the fifteen countries who sent troops to Korea during the hostilities in addition to the United States, and the United Nations generally.

Secretary Wilson expressed the concern that the United States would be in a most undesirable position if the United States did in fact lay itself open to criticism by our Allies and the neutral nations [Page 389] without fully preparing the groundwork through discussions with such countries. He proposed that it would appear to be desirable to ask some country to make a statement in the United Nations or some other forum pointing out the grossness of the violation of the Armistice by the Communists.

It was agreed that the Department of Defense would, on a top priority basis, pull together all available evidence of Communist violation of the Armistice in a form which could be used in discussing the matter with the Swiss and Swedes, the fifteen nations and the United Nations. When the Department of Defense has pulled this information together, representatives of the Departments of State and Defense will join to put the material in a form which is considered to be convincing to the countries in question.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.5611/1–1857. Secret. Drafted by Parsons on January 23 and initialed by Robertson as correct. The source text indicates the meeting took place in Secretary Dulles’ office.