Korean War Begins

Korean War Begins

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Overview

• In 1945, understanding that a victory in Europe was on the horizon, the Allied nations turned their concern to the fight in the Pacific.
• They worked to define a plan for defeating Japan with minimal loss of life.
• During the Yalta conference in February of 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised Joseph Stalin interests in the Far East in exchange for joining the war in the Pacific Theater.
• Cold War friction continued to build between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries wanted to expand their security zones and spheres of influence.

38th Parallel

• United States policymakers were in a complicated position in postwar Asia.
• At the same time, the United States, at least outwardly, supported the concept of self-determination for these newly freed nations.
• Cold War friction continued to build between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• Previously in the war, Great Britain, France, the USSR, and the United States had confirmed that Korea, under Japanese control since 1910, should earn the status of an independent state after Japan officially surrendered.
• As the Japanese hostilities ceased, the United States and the USSR agreed to divide the country for practical reasons.

• Any Japanese forces surrendering north of the 38th parallel would be taken into custody by the USSR. Those who surrendered south of the 38th parallel would be prisoners of the United States.
• Upon the end of the war in the Pacific, the United States and the Soviet Union planned to remove troops quickly so that Korea could begin rebuilding as an independent nation.

38th Parallel (continued)

• Due to his strong ties to communists, Lyuh Woon-Hyung received pressure from the United States government and subsequently stepped down.

• In 1947, the United Nations backed plans to oversee elections in North and South Korea but maneuvering by the Soviet Union blocked elections in the North.
• This resulted in the election of Syngman Rhee and the establishment of South Korea as a constitutional republic, supported by the United States.
• Both the United States and the Soviet Union withdrew their troops in 1949.

• However, pro-and anti-communist Korean forces continued to move across the 38th parallel in an attempt to gain ground.
• In a major attack in June of 1950, the North Korean forces reached the southern capital of Seoul.
• This triggered the delivery of assistance from the United States and set the stage for the Korean War.