Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Korea, Volume VII

795.00/10–950

Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (Perkins) to the Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (Clubb)

secret

[Washington,] October 9, 1950.

Dean Rusk asked last Saturday¹ that we get in touch with the Pentagon in an effort to insure that there would be no bombing during this period of the Yalu River Dam or its power plants. As you know, this power development was a joint Manchukuo-Japanese (Korea) project.

Mr. Rusk also said that we might wish to reserve an attack on the Dam as a bargaining point in case it came to that pass with the Chinese Communists.

I called Kenneth Young in the Office of the Secretary of Defense on Saturday and he said that he would pass along informally the recommendation that no bombing be carried out at this point. He said that if we wished to be more formal an approach could be made through G–Mr. Matthews to General Burns.

I reported this to NA–Mr. Johnson, who said that he thought the ban on strategic bombing would cover the matter, but agreed that no harm would be done by pointing it out to the military.

1. October 7.