220. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant (Macomber) to the Director of the Executive Secretariat (Howe)1

The Secretary has now reviewed the attached material2 regarding modernization of U.S. forces in Korea.

The Secretary said that he had never been satisfied that there was a military necessity for introducing dual-purpose weapons into Korea. He said that in his judgment the deterrent power of the U.S. is adequately taken care of through the U.S. capabilities in Okinawa and Japan. He said that the only reason he would favor introducing dual-purpose weapons into Korea would be to bring about the reduction of expense of U.S. military assistance in Korea. In other words, he is thinking of it in terms of a budgetary money saving operation rather than in terms of a strategic military operation. The Secretary does not get the impression from reading Mr. Robertson’s paper that the budgetary consideration has been the primary factor leading to the recommendation.

The Secretary said that he would not be prepared to approve the introduction of dual-purpose weapons into Korea unless it could be shown to him that such a step was essential in order to bring about the reduction of Korean forces and the expense of military assistance in Korea, and would, in fact, lead to this result.

William B. Macomber, Jr.3
  1. Source: Department of State, S/P Files: Lot 62 D 1, Korea, US Policy Toward (NSC 5702, 5702/1, 5702/2). Secret.
  2. Not found attached. A note on the source text indicates that Document 218 was attached.
  3. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.