Office of the Historian

2. National Security Study Memorandum 271

Washington, February 22, 1969.

TO

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Director of Central Intelligence
  • The Director of the Bureau of the Budget
  • The Administrator of the Agency for International Development
  • The Director of the United States Information Agency

SUBJECT

  • Interagency Planning-Programming-Budgeting Study for Korea

Senior Interdepartmental Group Memorandum #85, dated September 26, 1968, directed an Interagency Planning-Programming-Budgeting study for Korea.2 The President has directed the completion of this study as one of the series of studies to be undertaken in accordance with National Security Decision Memorandum No. 4, subject: Program Analyses.3

To avoid interrupting the progress of the study, no changes in the organization of the interagency task force and support of the study by the participating agencies should be made at this time. However, the task force should be in close consultation with the NSC staff as the study progresses.

A complete draft of the study report, backup analyses, and program memorandum should be submitted by the Chairman of the Steering Group to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs for review in accordance with NSDM 4 by May 1, 1969. The completed study report and program memorandum will be circulated [Page 4] for NSC IG/EA comment prior to submission to the NSC Review Group. The Administrator, Agency for International Development and the Director, United States Information Agency should be represented on the Interdepartmental Group for this purpose.

The terms of reference for the study as described in SIG Memorandum #85 shall remain in effect.

Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 365, Subject Files, National Security Study Memoranda, Nos. 1–42. Secret. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.↩
  2. In February 1968, President Lyndon Johnson instructed Under Secretary of State Nicholas deB. Katzenbach to direct a reassessment of U.S. policy toward South Korea, which went forward under the supervision of the Senior Interdepartmental Group. On September 26, 1968, Katzenbach sent SIG Memorandum 85 directing the initiation of an interagency study based on the issues raised and points of agreement derived from the SIG meeting of September 19. (Ibid., RG 59, Senior Interdepartmental Group Files: Lot 70 D 263) See Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, volume XXIX, part 1, Korea, Document 211.↩
  3. Dated January 20. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box H–209, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 1) It is printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969–1972, Document 13.↩