In January 1950 U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech to the National Press Club intended to outline the Pacific defense posture of the United States.
He named Japan and the Philippines in the U.S. defense plan, but did not explicitly include Korea or the Republic of China on Taiwan.
He further mentioned: “so far as the military security of other areas in the Pacific is concerned, it must be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack.”
In January 1950 , the U.S. Congress rejected a $60 million aid bill for South Korea.
Some observers regarded Acheson’s January 12, 1950 speech before the National Press Club to mean that the United States support for the government of South Korea was limited—suggesting the U.S. would not intervene if North Korea (assisted by the USSR) invaded the South.
Soviet archives first opened in the 1980s however, found that the speech had little if any impact on Communist deliberations.
