Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Korea, Volume XV, Part 2

Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file

Memorandum of Discussion at the 216th Meeting of the National Security Council Wednesday, October 6, 1954¹

top secret
eyes only

October 6, 1954

[Extract]

²

Present at the 216th meeting of the Council were the Secretary of State, presiding; the Secretary of Defense; the Director, Foreign Operations Administration; and the Director, Office of Defense Mobilization. Also present were the Secretary of the Treasury; the Attorney General (for Item 4); the Director, Bureau of the Budget; the Secretary of the Army; the Secretary of the Navy; the Secretary of the Air Force; the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Admiral Duncan for the Chief of Naval Operations; the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force; General Twining for the Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps; the Director of Central Intelligence; the Assistant to the President; Robert Cutler, Special Assistant to the President; Robert R. Bowie, Department of State; the Executive Secretary, NSC; the Deputy Executive Secretary, NSC; the Coordinator, NSC Planning Board [and] Assistants.

Following is a summary of the discussion at the meeting and the main points taken.

. . . . . . .

Mr. Dulles indicated that President Rhee was growing consistently more unreasonable and cantankerous. It was hard to see how the situation could last very much longer, but Mr. Dulles thought that Rhee might cooperate if confronted with a real showdown. Especially difficult was Rhee’s decision to shut off Korean currency advances to the United Nations Command. Secretary Wilson interrupted to counsel that we ought to go slow in this matter. It was something like a labor strike—one should not settle a strike too fast—you always go wrong if you do. Governor Stassen expressed agreement with Secretary Wilson that we ought to sit back for a while. President Rhee’s actions, he believed, would hurt South Korea more than it would hurt the United States. There was general agreement by other members of the Council to follow this advice.

. . . . . . .

1. This memorandum was drafted by Gleason on Oct. 7, 1954.
2. This discussion is extracted from item 1. “Significant World Developments Affecting U.S. Security.” Also discussed were a recent Soviet atomic test, a Khrushchev statement in support of China, and combined U.S.-French support of the Diem cabinet in Vietnam.