Who Started The Korean War Essay Sample

Prehistory

During World War II, the Allies in 1943 Cairo Declaration solemnly promised that Korea, Japanese colony since 1910, will found freedom and independence. In 1945, shortly before the end of the war, the country was divided at the 38th parallel into two zones - north and south, respectively occupied by Soviet and US forces. This fact caused the early surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea. USSR opposed the UN decision in 1946 to hold free elections throughout the country. These elections were held in South Korea in 1948, after which there was proclaimed the establishment of Republic of Korea. Following this, the United States withdrew its troops from South Korea, leaving only a group of military advisers to train Korean security forces. In the same year it was founded North Korea, the power which belonged to the Communists. As the North Korean and South Korean government pretended to have authority over the whole of Korea, therefore in autumn and winter 1949 on the border between the two states there were serious incidents that happened again in spring of 1950.

The beginning of war

In October 1, 1949 in Pekin it was declared the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), a close friend of the Soviet Union. Thus, it was formed strong rear of the alliance between the USSR and China to the north of North Korea, which theoretically could be overcome only if the world nuclear war began. By that time the Soviet Union already possessed nuclear weapons, conducting its successful test in August 1949. On 14 February 1950 it was signed the Chinese-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. In the South Korean and Western historiography historians argue that during the preparation of this agreement at a meeting with Mao Zedong in Moscow on January 22, 1950, Stalin announced the alleged refusal of the Yalta agreements in 1945 and asked the support of Mao Zedong in the fight against the United States . In any case, there was such a fact or not, in a beginning of the "Cold War" alliance with the USSR automatically means confrontation with the United States, which in 1948 began to make plans for the revival of Japan as a future ally and planned to leave there its military base.
Perhaps, that is why the South Korean made several military provocations at the demarcation line. Thus, according to various sources, for 1949-early 1950 along the 38th parallel from 1274 until 1836 armed clashes happened. Ongjin peninsula was considered to be the largest place of armed conflicts. One of American Scientists, B. Cummings, whose point of view is criticized in the modern historiography of South Korea, said that the Korean War was the development of armed clashes at the demarcation line ("Korean War Talk", 2013).
Thus, both the DPRK and the Republic of Korea during the first years after the proclamation of the state formation had been dealing with the strengthening of its armed forces; declared their readiness to overcome temporary absolutely abnormal division of the country into two parts.
The war began at 4 am June 25, 1950. North Korean and Soviet historiography declares that South Korean attack the first. However, its troops could not move into the territory of the DPRK more than 1-2 kilometers, after which the Korean People's Army (k on) launched a counteroffensive, and within a few days, drove the enemy to many tens of kilometers. According to South Korean, Western and modern Russian historiography, the war was started by the North Korean side. Since June 12, 1950 units of the KPA began to move to the south and stationed at a distance of 10-15 kilometers from the demarcation line.

Conclusion

According to Grant (2005), After this war North Korea was in a unique geopolitical position of being surrounded by three strongest powers in the world: from the south - hostile to the United States, to control the entire system of defense of South Korea, and from the north - China and the Soviet Union. Therefore, North Korea was forced to spend a lot of effort and allocate more resources to develop their armed forces.
South Korea has become virtually an island nation, separated from the outside world from the west, south and east of the seas, and in the north side. To maintain order in the devastated country and the economic recovery Synman Lee went on ways to enhance personal power, which they themselves South Koreans began to perceive as a dictatorship.
During the 37 months of the war the maximum number of UN troops reached approximately 800,000 people, including more than 400,000 South Korean and approximately 350,000 US troops. In the fighting in Korea there were involved units from 15 UN member countries. The maximum size of the Chinese army in Korea exceeded 1 million. The number of North Korean army reached 200 000. In South Korea, 2.5 million didn’t have home. Nearly 1 million of citizens died.

References

Korean War Talk. (2013, October 8). Daily News (Colombo, Sri Lanka).
Grant, R. (2005). The Korean War ([North American ed.). Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac Library.
Lee, J. (2013, July 27). Korean War Still Divides North and South 60 Years Later. The Seattle Times.