North Korean Shootdown of a U.S. Reconnaissance Flight and Contingency Planning, January–November 1969


31. Telegram From Secretary of State Rogers to the Department of State

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Agency Files, Box 280, Dept. of State, 6/11/69, Vol. III. Confidential. Repeated to Seoul.


32. Memorandum for the Record by Robert M. Behr of the National Security Council Staff

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–070, Washington Special Actions Group, WSAG Mtg. 7/11/69 Korea. Top Secret; Sensitive. Drafted on August 6.


33. Minutes of a Washington Special Actions Group Meeting

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–114, Washington Special Actions Group, WSAG Minutes, Originals, 1969–1970 [6 of 6]. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the Situation Room at the White House. Behr forwarded the minutes to Kissinger through Haig on August 11.


34. Minutes of a National Security Council Meeting

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–109, NSC Minutes, Originals, 1969. Top Secret; Sensitive. According to the President’s Daily Diary, the following officials attended the meeting, which lasted from 9:39 a.m. until 12:25 p.m.: the President, Agnew, Rogers, Laird, Mitchell, Wheeler, Richardson, Helms, Lincoln, Haig, Lynn, Holdridge, Green, and Morton Halperin. (Ibid., White House Central Files) Haig prepared draft minutes of this NSC meeting, which are in the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Memoranda to the President, Box CL 312, Meetings, National Security Council. Nixon’s notes on this meeting are printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XVII, China, 1969–1972, Document 25.


35. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1023, Presidential/HAK MemCons, Memcon—The President and President Pak (Korea). Top Secret; Eyes Only. The meeting was held in the St. Francis Hotel. President Park also made a speech to a Korean-American association at the Presidio in San Francisco earlier on August 21, but the primary purpose of his visit was to meet with President Nixon. This memorandum is attached to an undated memorandum from Lake to Kissinger summarizing the meeting and another one on the morning of August 22. Lake stated that President Nixon indicated he would take the following actions: “to inform the Koreans in advance of the time and number of U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam, to study sympathetically MAP, military assistance, and other Korean proposals, to plan to encourage more U.S. private investment in Korea, to help the Koreans with surplus agricultural products, to reappraise the Export/Import Bank’s limited capital so as to probably increase it, to talk with General Bonesteel about more fighter planes for Korea, and to visit Korea during his term of office.” (Ibid.)


36. Memorandum for the Record

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–071, Washington Special Actions Group, WSAG Meeting 8/25/69 Korea Contingency Plans. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Drafted by Holdridge. The meeting was held at the Western White House. A summary of conclusions of the meeting is ibid.


37. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Chairman of the NSSM 27 Steering Group (Brown)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–041, Review Group Meeting—NSSM 27 Korea 2/6/70. Secret. Copies were sent to Rogers, Laird, Helms, Mayo, Hannah, Shakespeare, and Wheeler.


38. Minutes of a Washington Special Actions Group Meeting

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–114, Washington Special Actions Group, WSAG Minutes, Originals, 1969–1970 [6 of 6]. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the Situation Room at the White House. Behr forwarded the minutes through Haig to Kissinger under a September 22 memorandum.


39. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 540, Country Files, Far East, Korea, Vol. I, to 9–69. Secret. Sent for action. A notation on the memorandum indicates that Kissinger saw it.


40. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 541, Country Files, Far East, Korea, Vol. II, 10/69–5/70. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action.


41. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 540, Country Files, Far East, Korea, Helicopter Incident. Secret; Exdis. Sent for action.


42. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Source: National Security Council, Intelligence Files, 303 Committee Meeting Minutes, 1969. Top Secret; Byeman. Sent for action.


43. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 541, Country Files, Far East, Korea, Vol. II, 10/69–5/70. Secret. Sent for action. Kissinger noted on the memorandum: “Al—Should see if this maybe is better to have DOD report to us? What do you think?”