234. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Jones) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy)1
SUBJECT
- Modernization Program in Korea
The following is furnished in reply to your request for information on the modernization of United States forces in Korea. The Department has been unable to obtain detailed information on shipping and delivery schedules or complete data on types of equipment and quantities, and the like, from the Department of Defense. The recent [Page 474] command shifts in the Pacific area,2 which also involved the move of the United Nations Command from Tokyo to Seoul, may have created some confusion in the implementation of the modernization program which explains the lack of complete and detailed information at this time.
We have been informed that on June 25, 1957 authority was given to the theater command to proceed with implementation of the decision to modernize United States forces in Korea. Under this authority, certain types of equipment available in Japan, which were previously excluded from introduction into Korea, were to be shipped to Korea. Other equipment was to be requisitioned for delivery from depots in the United States. Examples of the equipment involved include the M–47 tank (22 scheduled for delivery per month), the M–75 armored personnel carrier and recoilless rifles. Requisitions for equipment to be delivered from the United States have apparently been initiated. The types and amounts of such equipment is currently being determined by Defense in conjunction with the theater command. It is our understanding that the modernization of United States forces in Korea is being implemented within established priorities in view of the reorganization of all United States divisions which is also currently underway. Defense has requested a full report on the implementation of the modernization program in Korea from the theater command.
The Department has not been kept fully informed on the modernization program. I would like to suggest, therefore, that at the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting you request that a report describing the plans, equipment, weapons, and delivery schedules under the program, be made available to the Department.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 795.00/7–2457. Confidential. Drafted by Barbis.↩
- On July 1, General Lemnitzer completed his tour of duty as CINCFE/CINCUNC. The theater command structure in the Far East was revised at the same time, and the position of Commander in Chief, Far East was abolished. In a ceremony in Tokyo, Admiral Felix B. Stump, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet, assumed the responsibilities previously exercised by CINCFE. In another ceremony in Seoul, General George H. Decker assumed the functions of Commander in Chief, U.N. Command.↩