Events leading to Korean War

The Korean War: The Ongoing Conflict
Korea has a long history of being fought over by rival powers. The recorded history of Korea dates to the second century when the Chinese established colonies in the north of Korea after destroying a Korean kingdom. Korea remained under various forms of Chinese control until the twentieth century. For centuries, Korea was a battleground between China and Japan with the Japanese attempting to establish bases on the peninsula from which to conquer China. By the 19th century, Russia joined the fray and attempted to establish naval bases for its fleets. In 1903, Russia tried to divide Korea along the 39th parallel, giving Japan control of the south and gaining a buffer zone for itself in the north. Russia failed in this attempt and Japan eventually annexed Korea as a colony in 1910. For the next 35 years, Korea endured a brutal occupation. Japan exploited the Korean people and the peninsula's natural resources and used the country as a staging area for Japan's invasion of China. With Japan's surrender to Allied forces in 1945, Korea should have gained autonomy. Instead, the United States accepted the surrender of Japanese forces to the south of the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union accepted the surrender of Japanese forces to the north of the line. While the United States wanted to establish a Korean government and withdraw all forces from the peninsula as quickly as possible, the Soviet Union determined to set up a Marxist-Leninist government friendly to the Soviets. Accordingly, on October 3, 1945, they established Kim Il-sung as leader of the North Korean government. On September 9, 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was born. Soviet forces then withdrew from North Korea. In the South, the United States had neither the time nor the patience to nurture a new government. After 35 years of occupation, the country was in political and economic collapse and the U.S. decided to place the question of Korean independence in the hands of the U.N. The U.N. sent a commission to Korea to help establish free elections. Although North Korea refused to participate, Koreans in the south welcomed elections and soon established the Republic of Korea (ROK). On August 15, 1948, the U.S. occupation ended and American troops began leaving the country. In January 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson made it plain that the Republic of Korea was excluded from the U.S.'s defense perimeter in East Asia. With that exclusion on public record, and with Soviet support, Kim Il-sung determined that the conquest of the entire Korean peninsula would be an easy task. The South Korean army was ill-trained and ill-equipped while his Soviet equipped North Korean People's Army (NKPA) was at full strength. On June 25, 1950, the NKPA crossed the 38th parallel and forced the ROK army to retreat south. The ROK capital, Seoul, surrendered within 48 hours of the invasion. On June 27, 1950, the United States reversed its policy and intervened on behalf of the ROK under the authority of the United Nations. The Korean War was part of a much larger conflict being waged throughout the world after World War II. The Soviet Union and her communist allies saw the growing economic and military power of the United States and other western powers as a threat to their security. The Soviet Union determined that it needed "buffer states" on its borders - countries friendly to the Soviet Union that would protect them from the outside world. Accordingly, the Soviets, and later the Chinese Communists, supported North Korea in it's push to unite the peninsular under a communist state. By contrast, the United States and it's allies supported the democratic government in the south. Over the next three years, there were attacks, counterattacks, ceasefires, and peace talks. Finally, on July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement brought the fighting to an end. The agreement also established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas which is continuously guarded by American, South Korean, and North Korean soldiers. Today, the Republic of Korea is a prosperous and populous country. Its economy is one of the strongest in southeast Asia. By contrast, North Korea's economy, under first Kim Il-sung and then his son Kim Chong-Il's dictatorship, is in shambles. Since 1995, only an influx of massive international food aid deliveries has kept the North Korean population from starvation. North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear weapons program has increased tensions between itself and its neighbors as well as with the U.S. The 37,000 U.S. soldiers and their counterparts in the ROK army maintain a heightened awareness of the million-strong army located to their north. Periodically, representatives still meet to discuss violations of the 35 year old armistice agreement.

The Korean War:
The Ongoing Conflict

Korea has a long history of being fought over by rival powers. The recorded history of Korea dates to the second century when the Chinese established colonies in the north of Korea after destroying a Korean kingdom. Korea remained under various forms of Chinese control until the twentieth century. For centuries, Korea was a battleground between China and Japan with the Japanese attempting to establish bases on the peninsula from which to conquer China. By the 19th century, Russia joined the fray and attempted to establish naval bases for its fleets. In 1903, Russia tried to divide Korea along the 39th parallel, giving Japan control of the south and gaining a buffer zone for itself in the north. Russia failed in this attempt and Japan eventually annexed Korea as a colony in 1910. For the next 35 years, Korea endured a brutal occupation. Japan exploited the Korean people and the peninsula's natural resources and used the country as a staging area for Japan's invasion of China.

With Japan's surrender to Allied forces in 1945, Korea should have gained autonomy. Instead, the United States accepted the surrender of Japanese forces to the south of the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union accepted the surrender of Japanese forces to the north of the line. While the United States wanted to establish a Korean government and withdraw all forces from the peninsula as quickly as possible, the Soviet Union determined to set up a Marxist-Leninist government friendly to the Soviets. Accordingly, on October 3, 1945, they established Kim Il-sung as leader of the North Korean government. On September 9, 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was born. Soviet forces then withdrew from North Korea.

In the South, the United States had neither the time nor the patience to nurture a new government. After 35 years of occupation, the country was in political and economic collapse and the U.S. decided to place the question of Korean independence in the hands of the U.N. The U.N. sent a commission to Korea to help establish free elections. Although North Korea refused to participate, Koreans in the south welcomed elections and soon established the Republic of Korea (ROK). On August 15, 1948, the U.S. occupation ended and American troops began leaving the country.

In January 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson made it plain that the Republic of Korea was excluded from the U.S.'s defense perimeter in East Asia. With that exclusion on public record, and with Soviet support, Kim Il-sung determined that the conquest of the entire Korean peninsula would be an easy task. The South Korean army was ill-trained and ill-equipped while his Soviet equipped North Korean People's Army (NKPA) was at full strength. On June 25, 1950, the NKPA crossed the 38th parallel and forced the ROK army to retreat south. The ROK capital, Seoul, surrendered within 48 hours of the invasion.

On June 27, 1950, the United States reversed its policy and intervened on behalf of the ROK under the authority of the United Nations. The Korean War was part of a much larger conflict being waged throughout the world after World War II. The Soviet Union and her communist allies saw the growing economic and military power of the United States and other western powers as a threat to their security. The Soviet Union determined that it needed "buffer states" on its borders - countries friendly to the Soviet Union that would protect them from the outside world. Accordingly, the Soviets, and later the Chinese Communists, supported North Korea in it's push to unite the peninsular under a communist state. By contrast, the United States and it's allies supported the democratic government in the south.

Over the next three years, there were attacks, counterattacks, ceasefires, and peace talks. Finally, on July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement brought the fighting to an end. The agreement also established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas which is continuously guarded by American, South Korean, and North Korean soldiers.

Today, the Republic of Korea is a prosperous and populous country. Its economy is one of the strongest in southeast Asia. By contrast, North Korea's economy, under first Kim Il-sung and then his son Kim Chong-Il's dictatorship, is in shambles. Since 1995, only an influx of massive international food aid deliveries has kept the North Korean population from starvation.

North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear weapons program has increased tensions between itself and its neighbors as well as with the U.S. The 37,000 U.S. soldiers and their counterparts in the ROK army maintain a heightened awareness of the million-strong army located to their north. Periodically, representatives still meet to discuss violations of the 35 year old armistice agreement.