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a) Origins of the Korean War/
The surrender of Japan was inevitable after the United States had dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. Stalin was waiting for just such an opportunity which would allow the Soviets to enter the war against Japan while incurring minimal losses, and so it was no surprise when the USSR declared war against Japan after the U.S. had dropped the second atom bomb. Upon Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, Soviet military forces swept through Manchuria and North Korea taking over control of these former Japanese provinces. The United States reacted in alarm when it realized the potential danger of having the strategic Korean peninsula controlled by communist forces. Because of containment policy (def.: Spann p.183), which was the post-war doctrine of the US foreign policy, the US had to stop the spreading of communist values and communist infiltration. The Truman doctrine also forced it to act in Korea, as the US was, according to this doctrine, not going to turn away from world affairs again, as in 1918. President Truman proposed a joint occupation of Korea by the two powers, in which the Soviets would occupy the territory north of the 38th parallel, while the U.S. would control the area to the south of that line.
Both of them, the Soviets as well as the Americans, wanted to withdraw their military forces in times to come. However, neither the USSR or the US wanted the peninsula to fall into the opponent's hand. The roots of division were laid from the very onset of Korea's liberation.
Communist elements in the north had been present during the Japanese colonial period, but with the north now under Soviet tutelage, the leftist factions were able to seize power. The Soviets helped to establish Kim Il Sung, a product of the Soviet military machine, as the leading political figure in the north.
In the South, the US helped Syngman Rhee to come into political power, whose dogma was to establish Korea's full independenence.
In 1948 South Korea held her first general elections. Soon afterwards, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was established in the South and was promptly recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate government of Korea. During the same time the North followed with similar actions by holding its own elections. Kim Il Sung was declared president of the new Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPKR), which was immediately recognized by the Soviet Union and other communist countries as the legitimate government of Korea. By the winter of 1948 the worst fears of Korean Nationalists were confirmed, as Korea became permanently divided at the 38th parallel.
These happenings set the stage for a civil war. And by 1950, both North and South Korea sensed that this war was inevitable. North Korea had a clear advantage over the south. Not only did North Korea possess a larger army, it also had many experienced veterans who had fought in China's Civil War (up to 1945). It was manufacturing its own weapons as well as possessing many Soviet made weapons. South Korea on the other hand had soldiers who had not even had basic training. Finally, North Korea had the support of communist China. On the eve of war, North Korea had a clear advantage and started the war on June 25, 1950. There never was a declaration of war.
b) The Korean War (1950-1953)
From the day when North Koreans attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950 to the day of the armistice on July 27, 1953, the events of the Korean War revealed the mass destruction, pain and suffering Koreans had to endure. At the end of the war, more than 3 million Koreans had died and millions of refugees remained homeless and distraught. About 1 million Chinese had died in this war and American casualties numbered 54.246 people.
Basically the facts of the Korean war are very easy to summarize. The Korean War can be split up into 3 phases:
. The first phase began on June 25, 1950 and ended on the day when the United Nations (UN) forces thrust into North Korean territory
. The second phase of the Korean war was essentially the Southern attack on and retreat from North Korea
. The last phase of the war consisted of the "see-saw" fighting on the thirty eighth parallel, stalemate, and negotiation talks.
On the first day of the war, more than 70.000 North Korean troops with Russian T-34 tanks crossed the thirty eighth parallel. It did not take long for a call to the United Nations (by the US) to take "police action" against the "unwarranted" attack. Under the name of the "United Nations" the United States could send troops and forces. In the fights of the first phase Seoul was taken by the Northern forces and retaken by the South. This phase lasted till September 30th 1950, about 100 days. By the end of this first phase of the Korean War, 111.000 South Koreans had died and 57.000 were missing.
In the second phase China entered the war and supported the retreating forces of President Kim Il Sun. Again Seoul was taken by Northern forces and it was again retaken by South Korea. After so many military actions, no citizens could feel safe any longer. Many of them fled their homes in search of refugee camps, safety, shelter, and food.
After these two phases the war stopped for a short time. For two months it was localized "only" around the 38th parallel, and neither unit had really advanced beyond the parallel. By the summer of 1951, talks for an armistice began, but there was no success between 1951 and 1953. Fighting continued with intensified guerrilla warfare during the armistice talks. As the negotiations continued, aerial bombing of North Korea intensified.
By June 8, 1953 the basic agreement regarding POW (Prisoners of War) was settled. Both sides agreed on the principle of voluntary repatriation. And by June 17 the agreement on the final truce-demarcation line had become finalized. The armistice was finally signed on July 27, 1953.
c) Results
Apart from many casualties the Korean War brought no result. The country still is still separated today, and a reunion is, even if there are talks going on nowadays, far away. Families have been split up along the 38th parallel, and hatred has been spread over the country. Millions of Koreans died in a war, not between North and South Korea, but between the communist powers and the US.
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