ABSTRACT
On December 10, 1948, the United States signed an economic aid agreement with the Republic of Korea under the Economic Cooperation program. Food production has increased sufficiently to enable South Korea to become self-sufficient in foodstuffs and permit the anticipation of some food exports by 1950. The Truman Administration repeatedly emphasized the importance of American economic aid to the South Korean government. The United States had unwittingly made Korea the tragic victim of far-reaching international rivalries when it accepted the principle of a joint occupation of the country with the Soviet Union. Korea, with an economy in no respect stronger than before the war, is vulnerable to renewed exploitation by Japan. North Korea is probably somewhat less dependent upon external economic considerations than South Korea. In a military sense the North Korea regime was undoubtedly the stronger at the outset, but it was rapidly being overtaken by the South Korean government.
