    • 

CHAPTER 13

Journey to North Korea

I

n the spring of , I received a telephone call from Gen. Richard
Stilwell, who was commander of U.S. Forces Korea from  to .
General Stilwell had been a particularly distinguished officer and was
highly respected on both the Korean and American sides. Following
his retirement from the U.S. Army, he had been a consultant to several com-
panies and was also appointed to a high civilian-government position dur-
ing the Reagan administration. Throughout these years, Stilwell had
maintained his close ties to Korea and was active in several organizations
that focused on Korean politics, security, and military affairs.
General Stilwell said in our conversation that he expected to make a trip
to Pyongyang, North Korea, in the middle of June and requested that I ac-
company him. This came as quite a surprise since it was difficult for me to
imagine the former commander of USFK visiting North Korea. Although I
had some concerns, I had great respect for General Stilwell and therefore
agreed to his request.
In the beginning, this trip was considered a secret since the United States
and North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) had
never previously had contact such as this. The State Department was con-
cerned that news of our mission would leak out and that South Korea would
object. Rather than try to keep it a secret, however, General Stilwell suggested
that we instead inform our ROK allies in advance about all the details and
debrief them fully on return. This was the approach that was eventually
adopted, and our trip was made with the full knowledge of both the Ameri-
can and South Korean governments.
The purpose of our visit was to discuss with senior North Korean officials
issues of mutual concern related to security on the Korean peninsula. There
would be a two-day formal conference and meetings with the defense and
foreign ministers and possibly even Kim Il Sung, the North Korean leader.
Our trip was under the banner of the International Security Council (ISC), a
Washington-based group whose worldwide membership includes many dis-
tinguished Americans and foreigners. General Stilwell headed the delegation,