Editorial Note
On October 24, General MacArthur issued orders to his ground commanders in Korea removing all restrictions on the use of United Nations forces in North Korea and instructing them to proceed, using all their forces and not just Republic of Korea troops, to the northern frontiers of North Korea. The Joint Chiefs of Staff questioned these orders as not being in accord with the directive of September 27, to which General MacArthur replied on the following day that the lifting of restrictions was demanded by military necessity, since Republic of Korea troops could not handle the situation in northern North Korea alone. General MacArthur added that he felt he had latitude [Page 996] to alter his directive on the basis of Secretary Marshall’s telegram to him on September 29, page 826. (See Appleman, South to the Naktang. North to the Yalu, pages 670–671; Hearings, pages 1240–1241.)