What did the declassified documents reveal?

This episode of Declassified presents a United States intelligence memorandum concerning possible American reaction to a Chinese Communist intervention in Korea, dated December fourteenth, nineteen fifty. The record is hosted in the public domain at archive.org. The memorandum was released through The Black Vault’s digital collection of declassified documents. The file appears as part of a broader FOIA‑derived release, with the declassification authority identified as the United States government under its standard classification review process. The document is reproduced here in its entirety as it appears in the source. The memorandum reads: “Mr. Rusk – December fourteen, nineteen fifty. Subject: Communist intervention in Korea. The present position, as articulated by Mr. Stuart, is that we should not plan solely on the basis that a global war is ‘just around the corner,’ but also on the alternative basis that there may, for some time, still be a continuation and perhaps intensification of present‑war tactics; and that we should not, therefore, at this time give up positions which would seriously weaken us for the continuance of cold‑war tactics in Asia, simply because such positions would be militarily untenable in the event of global conflict. With Mr. Stuart’s general position I am in agreement. I would qualify that agreement, however, by stating that: 1. The stated position of North Korean Premier Kim Il‑sung that the United Nations forces must be ejected from the Korean peninsula; 2. The support this position receives from both the Peiping propaganda and the surly response of General Wu Shiu‑chuan that China’s answer to the cease‑fire project will be given ‘on the battlefield’; and 3. Mr. Mallk’s assertion that a cease‑fire was solely for the purpose of giving our forces time to regain their strength for further aggression and that the Soviet resolution of December nine requiring that ‘foreign troops be withdrawn immediately from Korea’ should be adopted, all indicate clearly that the Communist camp is prepared to drive on to the achievement of its first objective in Korea – the elimination of non‑Communist power and authority from the peninsula. The readiness of the Communist camp to accept the danger of global war appears clearer still. U.S. intelligence estimates generally agree that the danger of global war has substantially increased in proportion to the growing evidence of Communist readiness to accept the danger attendant on aggression. In those circumstances the outstanding question is how much time remains to the United States before a world war will probably occur. My own estimate, as set forth in the Central Intelligence Agency memorandum ‘Chinese Communist Intervention in Korea – Global Implications,’ is that the period may well develop immediately after the termination of the present session of the United Nations General Assembly and that another escalation could occur in early spring nineteen fifty‑one. The developments in…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Case File · ARCHIVE-003Declassified

Filed OCT 26 · 2026Runtime 1 min

CIA This Episode Of Declassified Presents A United States Intelligence Memorandum

U.S. public record · FOIAUpdated October 26, 2026

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◆ BLUF — The short version

This episode of Declassified presents a United States intelligence memorandum concerning possible American reaction to a Chinese Communist intervention in Korea, dated December fourteenth, nineteen fifty. org. The memorandum was released through The Black Vault’s digital collection of declassified documents.

Date: OCT 26 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Episode notes

This episode of Declassified presents a United States intelligence memorandum concerning possible American reaction to a Chinese Communist intervention in Korea, dated December fourteenth, nineteen fifty. The record is hosted in the public domain at archive.org. The memorandum was released through…

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What was CIA This Episode Of Declassified Presents A United States Intelligence Memorandum about?: This episode of Declassified presents a United States intelligence memorandum concerning possible American reaction to a Chinese Communist intervention in Korea, dated December fourteenth, nineteen fifty. org. The memorandum was released through The Black Vault’s digital collection of declassified documents.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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CIA This Episode Of Declassified Presents A United States Intelligence Memorandum

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