• east Asia area alone—at least several inches of paper every day. Later, when
some individuals claimed they had had no prior warning about such events
as occurred in Korea in –, I had to believe that the warning signs
had been there in intelligence reports all the time, if someone had been doing
proper analysis. But such scrutiny was not easy, given the volume and di-
versity of evidence available.
The First Korean Nuclear CrisisOne of the issues I dealt with was nuclear weapons. The problem concern-
ing North Korea’s atomic capabilities and intentions, which has received
headlines since about (and in nearly led to war), is not the first
nuclear controversy on the Korean peninsula. During the mid-s, the
issue of nuclear weapons development forced a serious confrontation be-
tween the ROK and U.S. governments and brought Korean-American rela-
tions to a crisis point.^1 As an army intelligence officer in the Pentagon, I had
a unique vantage point from which to watch this drama unfold.
In the s the South Korean Army depended on the United States for
almost its very existence, including its weapons, organizational and tacti-
cal doctrine, logistics, and even most of its basic wartime supplies, such as
ammunition. The Korean government realized that this was not in the long-
term interests of the nation and was determined to improve the ability to
independently produce its own defense material, ammunition, and weap-
ons. As a result, during the late s Korea embarked on an ambitious
program to become self-sufficient in the domestic production of defense
equipment.
By the early s the United States and the ROK were working together
to improve Korea’s defense capabilities. Much of the emphasis for this effort
came directly from Pres. Park Chung Hee. Indeed, to my way of thinking,
most of the credit for Korea’s strong military today can be traced back to
initiatives begun under the Park government. I think that he was probably
the most farsighted of all the modern Korean leaders in this respect.
The U.S. government initially supported the domestic production of such
items as small-arms ammunition and rifles. U.S. companies such as Colt and
others provided technology in order to assist the development of these in-
dustries. This policy cooperation has generally continued through the
present day. In fact, what began as a fairly modest defense industry under
President Park has now expanded to the point where South Korea produces
most of its own defense equipment, including ships, aircraft, missiles, and