Acheson, Dean

There was a short period from 1949 to 1950, prior to the Korean War, when some American officials, notably Secretary of State Dean Acheson, felt that the Chinese... 

Another crucial figure in the debate was Dean Acheson, now Secretary of State. Truman listened to Acheson, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and the Joint Chiefs of Stafi more than he listened to the scientists. The Joint Chiefs told Truman, without much staff evaluation, that a Soviet H-bomb would be intolerable. So, in as many words, did Acheson. None of the groups that participated in the debate studied the possibility that the result of the American initiative might be an arms race. The H-bomb appeared to its supporters to offer a return to nuclear superiority. On January 31, 1950, Truman announced in favor of proceeding to develop it. 

In May 1951 the North Korean government alleged in the United Nations (UN) that the US was using biological weapons in Korea. In December that year cases of typhus appeared in North Korea, which had previously been free of the disease. The North Korean Foreign Minister, Pak Hen, blamed the United States for the outbreak. This charge was taken up by China which also claimed to have been subjected to BW attacks, and by several Warsaw Pact countries. In March 1952 Dean Acheson told the International Red Cross (IRC). 

Speech by Dean Acheson, on 7 March 1952, cited in Robert Leckie, The Korean War, p. 351. 

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