fj gz e gg HEHORANDUM 0F PARTICIPANTS United States Honorable Harold Brown Secretary of Defense Honorabie William H Gleysteen Jr Ambassador to the Republic of Korea General John w Vessey Jr USA Commander U S Forces Kore Honorable David E McGiffert Assistant Secretary of Defense ISA - Mr Michael Armacost Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense I USA Korea Honorable Park Chung Hee President Honorable Ro Jae Hyun Minister of National Defense TIME Bad PLACE Blue House November 7 l978 10 30-11 30 a m l President Park Opened the meeting with warm greetings and an exchange of pleasantries followed including a discussion of the fog conditions which caused Dr Brown's late arrival in Seoul on the 6th and resulted in a cancellation of his planned visit to a Korean armored unit There was an agreement that governments cannot be responsible for the weather and an emphasis by Dr- Brown that the hospitality of Minister Ro more than made up for the difficulties the fog might have caused 2 Dr Brown said that he had spoken with President Carter just before leaving the States that the President had just returned to Washington from a two-day campaign trip tired but happy 'Dr Brawn said that President Carter had sent his personal greetings to President Park and a letter which he would deliver later during the meeting 3 Dr Brown said that in thinking over the events that had transpired since he and President Park had last met he felt that both of our countries have a good deal of which to be proud and satisfied He emphasized his personal satisfaction with the general State of our defense relationship and noted in particular the following-points ii an __ii i WW - avc -- - 7 - The April 2i l978 adjustment in the withdrawal plan which dis played convincingly that we will conduct the withdrawal in a carefui and prudent fashion 0 The favorable action by the United States Congress on the transfer legislation providing the ROK cost free equipment of the withdrawing U S units and associated training on a non-reimburseable basis This outcome he said was better than he had expected and is an indication that the U S Congress recognizes the importance of our commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea - The increasing size and tempo of joint exercises involving the United States and ROK forces most noticeably Team Spirit and the temporary deployment of AWACS to Korea this past September He said that he felt the Team Spirit exercise had gone very well and also noted that with AWACS stationed in Okinawa it could be moved rapidly to the Korean peninsula in times of tension 'l The expanded U S support to Korea's defense industry cooperation on the Korean indigenous tank program revitalization of the scientisa and engineer exchange program and support for production of the 90 mmleS mm Tungst n round Dr Brown mentioned Dr Perry's report to him following his visit to Korea and Dr Berry's belief that there is a substantial capacity and capability in Korea for industrial development Dr Brown also stated that he was looking forward to his tripgto Changwon the following day to enable him to confirm for himself the many favorable reports he has had on RDK industrial progress 0 The formal activation of the Combined Forces Command to take place later in the afternoon which will provide a concrete demonstration of the new pattern of defense cooperation between the United States and the RGK he said that this would signify a more equal partnership between the the nations and would certainly be recognized as such 0 Recent evidences of RDK support for our U S presence in a numbar of ways and in particular 00 The ROK decision to fund the cost of airfield improvements for contingency operations on President Park's recent approval of a plan for construction by the Korean National Housing Corporation of 700 rental units in Seoul and 200 in Osan to house military personnel He emphasized that this will allow longer tours for our U S personnel reduce turnover and improve our efficiency 0 The continued coordination of our diplomatic efforts most notably the U S refusal to deal with North Korea without ROK participation and U S support to President Park's appeal to the North to resume a dialogue with the South DECLASSIFIED a'tft7TT a v 3 is Dr Brown continued that it seemed to him that these developments indicate that the United States and the Republic of Korea are entering a new phase in our relationships one in which we can concentrate on rebuilding broader support for U S Korean relationship In this respect he described the debate in the Dongress this past year as very encouraging The next step is to em hasize to the American people the fact of the growing prOSperity in Korea and in particular to ensure that Americans recognize the equitable distribution of the fruits of this economic progress within Korea He noted that the rural populace as well as the poor segments in the cities are sharing this prosperity a fact that Americans will appreciate 5 Dr Brown summarized the points he had made by saying that we had come through a tough year and that hopefully in the year ahead we be free of crisis and can concentrate in both our countries on consolidating the progress that we have already made in designing a new equilibrium in our relations He said that he understands that there are some Koreans - who still have lingering doubts about the firmness of our commitment in the United States but that we are sensitive to such concerns and will continue to take steps to allay them He also said that although we still do have some critics of Korea and of our policy on the peninsula in the United States he is satisfied that there is also a strong and durable support for our defense commitment He noted that since the United States had announced its intention to 'withdraw its ground troops over a period of four to five years many Koreans had showed uneasiness He felt however that the actions of the past year had shown the Korean people that the United States is working hard to maintain a proper balance on the peninsula 0f most importance in these actions is the establishment of the Combined Forces Command He also said that the arrival on the following day of the new F-h air- - craft and the fact that Dr Brown had come to participate in that arrival ceremony is a mark of how the United States government cares about maintaining a strong Korean United States relationship He referred to the recent scandals as unfortunate but said that he felt these were behind us and the time had come to normalize our relationship He again emphasized the importance of Dr Brown's visit as a demonstration to the world and to North Korea that the North Koreans could not take advantage of the United States ground troop withdrawal He said that the North Koreans must know now that they cannot move against South - Korea without a joint reaction 6 President Park said that he appreciate-d Dr Brown's observations 7 President Park continued by saying that he appreciated very much Dr Brown's remarks about the Korean defense industries and their capabilities and is-looking forward to Dr Brown's visit to the industrial site on the following day r IECLASSEFEED SJW --I 8 Dr Brown said that his staff is working to ensure that he can see both the industrial facilities and also participate in the F-h arrival ceremonies He referred again to the new Combined Forces Command stressing not only its practical military importance but even more its significance_as a symbol of the new relationship between our two countries on the basis of a more equal and balanced partnership Dr Brown then said he would like to turn to some new developments and although he had gone over these with Minister Ro the day before he wanted to touch on them at this time He made the following points 0 We will as President Carter indicated last April be withdrawing 2600 U S troops from the ROK in l979 The stand down of the Honest John Battalion and the transfer of its equipment to the ROK will likely occur in the s-pring of l979 followed by the removal of the Brigade Headquarters two combat battalions and smaller support elements of the 2nd Division later in the year 0 We asked our Congress for $275 million of FHS credits for Korea in FY 1979 as well as funds for grant training in the United States under the International Military Education and Training program He noted that Congressional action in reducing world wide FMS appropriations by 16 percent may well force us to undertake some reprogramming and that the Korean program may be affected somewhat He made it clear that Congres sional action in this reduction was on a world-wide basis and that Korea had not been singled out for any reduction The ROK may want to be rethinking the timing and the mix of air craft purchases from the United States The current elections in the United States will change the composition of the Congress and the leadership of key committees We will consult with the Congress early in the new-veer and then determine the proper timing for signing an Ld He confirmed to-President Park that we remain ready to sell the Fvlb 0 We recognize the ROK government's desire to develop an indigenous Korean capability to produce aircraft Our plan to transfer to Korea the aircraft depot maintenance facility now on Taiwan will help the ROK in gaining experience toward developing an indigenous aircraft industry h e are not prepared to approve co- production of the l6 But Dr Brown indicated that he would be willing to consider assisting the ROK in corassembly and licensed production of a less sophisticated plane Dr Brown mentioned the as a possible candidate but said that he was not pnomising anything but rather would consider recommending this aircraft for a possible co-assembly agreement if the ROK is interested 9 Dr Brown then said that he would be happy to answer any questions from President Park but that also he would like to get the President's opinions on the impact of necent developments in great power relations in Northeast Asia on the Korean situation In noting that in his opinion - these developments may well hold promise for enhancing ROK security he cited the following points 0 The evident cooling of North Korean Soviet relations which may complicate North Korea's economic problems 0 Some setbacks in North Korea diplomatic offensive to obtain support for its position among the LDCs The emphasis in PRC policy on rapid modernization with the help of the West thus increasing the Chinese stake in avoiding confliCts in Korea which could lead to great power confrontations 0 Improved ROK relations with Japan 10 President Park replied by saying that although at the Sino Japanese Treaty ceremony the leaders of the two countries stated that the result of the treaty would be a reduction of tensions on the Korea peninsula the ROK does not agree The ROK sees no lessening of tensions and no signs that North Korea wishes to change its policy He said that South Korea welcomed the treaty but sees no change or lessening of tensions at all in the peninsula He said that the Japanese Foreign Minister had told him some time ago that they were about to sign this treaty and expressed his belief that it could have a good effect for South Korea President Park said that certainly one effect could be that the Japanese could convince the PRC to restrain the North Koreans 0n the other hand if because of the treaty North Korea should es ablish a firmer relationship with Japan that would worsen the ROK position On balance then the ROK sees no change at all following the treaty ll President Park referred to the recently discovened North Korean tunnel at the DMZ and said that there may be more of these and he thinks Iof this as another North Korean threat He sees some good signs in Northeast Asia among them the Sino Japanese treaty U S efforts at normalization with the PRC and the PRC's efforts at trying to modernize with the help of the United States Western Europe and Japan He cautioned again that we must not let our guard down We-must watch the Soviet Union which is leery of the PRC moves toward Japan and the United States and may take it upon itself to cause instability ik the area He said that the Soviets may look for closer relations with North Korea and try to tempt the North Koreans to disturb stability in Northeast Asia He cautioned that the PRE efforts at modernization will strengthen them and that there is always the possibility that the RRC may some day turn back to the Soviet Union We thus must be careful not to build the PRC up too much They are tommunists He asked for Dr Brown's comments on this DECLASSIFIED m my - I- il l2 Dr Brown stated that the PRC is far from being a major military power now though they have the potential to become one As of now he said the PRC acts to pin down Soviet divisions on their eastern front rahter than_as a threat to other nations The United States policy is to encourage economic cooperation with the Peoples' Republic of China by western industrial nations We leave it to other Free World nations to decide on whether they shouid sell defensive weapons to the PRC We discourage any sale of offensive weapons to them because we do recognize the risk of which President Park spoke i3 President Park asked Dr Brown if the United States plans to seii defensive weapons to Communist China Dr Brown replied that we do not have plans to sell any weapons to the PRC As the meeting adjourned Dr Brown asked the President if they might have a short private taik which then ensued Prepared Approved Thor Hanson David E McGiffert Rear Admiral USN Assistant Secretary of Defense Military Assistant to the ESA Secretary of Defense DATE 0 20 Ft 2 90 '11 DECLASSE Led art                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu