• indeed terminated. In early Korea withdrew from negotiations with
the French for the nuclear plant that would have been capable of reprocess-
ing plutonium. That same year U.S. grants and loans for Korea’s peaceful
nuclear power program were expanded and work on the existing and
planned Westinghouse plants accelerated. By Korea’s first major
nuclear power plant was in full operation. The ROK-U.S. security alliance,
which had been tested by these events, had survived intact.
Some may say that the American “hardball” tactics employed during this
period were unfair and bullying. That may be a reasonable criticism, but this
was an issue of great importance, one that we clearly felt strongly about. In
the final analysis, we were successful in preventing the development of a
South Korean bomb because we had good political, economic, and security
ties and, therefore, were able to use the applicable leverage in those areas to
our advantage. The ultimate result was probably the best outcome for both
countries.
The Panmunjom Tree-Cutting Incident: How a Second Korean War Almost BeganThe Demilitarized Zone in Korea has always been a dangerous place. There
have been serious incidents between the military forces of both sides on
numerous occasions, and some of these have led to deaths. In August, ,
one of the worst of these events took place—the axe murders, or tree-
cutting, incident.^4
The ROK and the United States maintain a small force at Panmunjom.
These soldiers are specially selected and are assigned to a combined unit of
approximately company strength. Their mission is to protect U.S. interests
in the Joint Security Area (JSA), where the Military Armistice Commission
meets. The North Koreans have a similar force, and each side has the right
to maintain guard posts, perform routine maintenance, and generally move
freely about the area in the performance of its duties.
As part of these normal duties, on August a small detachment from
the ROK-U.S. side was engaged in trimming a large poplar tree that had
become overgrown and was blocking the vision between two of the U.S.
guard posts. As they worked, a group of North Koreans approached them,
at first only observing the activity. Soon the mood turned ugly. The North
Korean officer in charge suddenly ordered his men, who were armed with
axes, metal pipes, and other weapons, to attack. Two American officers were
singled out for special attention during the attack and were brutally mur-
dered with axes.