Korean War

Koreans have often had trouble keeping everyone away and have often fallen under control of neighboring empires.

In 1904 the Japanese took over Korea until the end of the second

world war.

The Joint Agreement, which is the US-sponsored Korean occupation agreement.

The Soviet Union would maintain the top half of Korea after the war, and the United States would do so in the bottom half. The dividing line was the 38th parallel.

In November 1947, both countries pulled out of Korea, leaving it on its own.

In North Korea, where the Soviets had been, a communist government was left behind.

The United States left behind a democracy.

The two separate governments were left behind and Korea had been split into North Korea and South Korea (1948), each side wished to unify all of Korea again under their own form of government.

North Korea formed as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Kim Il Sung was placed as leader (prime minister).

In South Korea, Syngman Rhee became president. North Korea wished to unify Korea as communist, while South Korea wished to bring democracy to all of Korea.

The United States pulled out from South Korea, dropping from 40,000 troops to approximately 500 troops.

The United States also limited the number of weapons given to South Korea in fear of Syngman Rhee leading an attack on North Korea.

A second reason for limiting weapons was a new policy in the United States concerning Asia. The Soviets had developed a nuclear bomb by 1949. The communists in China and the Soviet Union were also powerful. The United States felt the best way to aid the area would be non-military in hopes of avoiding further wars.

When Secretary of State Dean Acheson said Korea would not be included in the American defense line, this further motivated North Korea into an attack.

On June 25th, 1950, North Korean armies crossed the 38th parallel, in hopes of unifying Korea by force. The Korean War had begun.