coldwar- the korean war 1950-53

when and where was the division of korea into two zones of occupation agreed

potsdam - august 1945

what is this division referred as

the 38th paralell

which superpower had which zone

USSR -north

USA - south

when did USA create the capitalist republic of korea

august 1948

when did USSR create the communist democratic peoples republic of korea

september 1948

who did USSR put as leader of north korea

Kim II sung

who did USA put as south korean leader

syngman rhee

what were both kim II sung and rhee committed to

a restoration of a unified korea under a single leader

kim II sung

• leader of communist north korea

• communist but not a puppet of USSR or china

• fought the japanese and then fled to USSR where he had been trained to lead North Korea after WW2

syngman rhee

• 1875-1965

• leader of capitalist south korea

• lived in US for 40 years- only came back to korea because of USA

• powerful propogandist for korean nationalism within an apparently democratic context

• a committed nationalist

what did rhee want for korea

• rhee was both a nationalist an an anti-communist who wanted to reunite korea as a sovereign country that would not tolerate communism in any form

• this mean removing communism from the north but also establishing a stronger state in the process that could resist any threats from the USSR

• argued that defending a border with manchuria was better than defending a border at the 38th parallell

• rhee needed a guarantee from the US that it would protect south korea from an attack from the north and provide military aid to enable the south korean army to enforce the national reunification of korea

what did kim II sung want for korea

• wanted a reunified korea by using force

• this began with the development of of extensive guerrilla action by the north which aimed to destabilise the south and undermines rhee’s regime

what strategy did Kim II sung develop

winning external support - he wanted to use the collective power of the communist world in order to increase the norths strength against south korea and its western allies - as a result he pressurised both the USSR and china

what four issues did Kim II sung focus on in order to persuade stalin to support an attack on the south

• it would be a rapid and decisive victory

• there was a hardcore of 200,000 communist supporters already in the south

• there was a well organised communist guerrilla force operating in the south

• the USA would not have time to intervene

when did kim II sung turn to stalin for soviet support for a north korean assault on south korea

march 1949

what was stalins response to Kim II sung in relation to his pleas

• rejected kim II sungs pleas - aware of the 75,000 US troops in south

• reiterated his support and suggested sung should strengthen the guerrilla forces in the south in order to undermine the government there

why did stalins position change by 1950 regarding Kim II sungs pleas

• chinese communists had defeated the nationalists and set up the peoples republic of china

• USA did not include south korea in their defensive perimeter strategy

what did stalin agree to provide north korea

• 1600 pieces of artillery

• 178 military aircraft

• 258 T-34 tanks

• NOT committed to sending soviet troops to participate in a war

what influenced stalins thinking of soviet support for north korea invading south

• a war in korea might bring in the USA and this could lead to a US soviet conflict that could spread into europe. stalin did not anticipate a global conflict but he was conscious of the fact that europe was the epicentre of cold war confrontation at this time

• a united communist korean state as an ally of USSR would be positive outcome - it would strengthen soviet borders, put pressure on japan, and provide economic opportunities for the USSR

• if he stalled on supporting north korea , Kim II sung could turn to china for its primary support - this might undermine soviet influence in the region

• the USSR had nuclear technology by 1950

when did stalin make it clear to kim II sung that he would not commit soviet forces if north korea faced conflict with the USA

april 1950

why did stalin choose indirect military support for north korea

• a war between north and south would certainly draw the USA into conflict- this would necessitate the USA committing costly resources

• stalin was not prepared to engage in direct military confrontation with the USA as the USSR was at a disadvantage to USA regarding nuclear weapons

what were Mo’s immediate priorities in 1949

consolidating communist control in china and the consolidation of chinese territory through regaining control of taiwan from the nationalists

why was mao not concerned about the future of korea

• was determined to take no action to inflame the USA

• ordered less emphasis to be placed on china acting as a prime mover in the global struggle between communism and capitalist western imperialism - and greater focus to be placed on addressing chinas more immediate geostrategic priorities - particularly the future of taiwan

what activated chinas involvement in the korean war

response to truman ordering US 7th fleet to defend taiwan by positioning itself between china and taiwan

what did enlai argue about chinas involvment in the korean war

argued that the internal consolidation of the communist revolution without any external distractions must prevail

what did mao argue about chinas involvement in the korean war

august 1950 - argued that if the US imperialists won the war they would become more arrogant and would threaten china

when did china join the korean war

november 1950

zhou enlai

• 1898-1976

• first premier of the peoples republic of china from 1949

• focussed on consolidating the communist party’s power in china and reconstructing its economy

• after korean war he supported the idea of peaceful cooperation with the west

until 1949 what was the USA’s national security priority in asia instead of the growing korean divide

japan - the emerging struggle between north and south korea was of secondary importance compared to the need to strengthen the USA’s national security by protecting japan and reviving its economic strength

what was the USA biggest threat and focus on at this time

USSR and its focus was on europe rather than Asia - assuming japan and the defensive perimeter states were secured

what was achesons view of north korea in may 1951

north koreas purpose was to destabilise japan , southeast asia and the philipines and even to influence the position in europe - these areas in the far east according to acheson would become unsettled if a communist attack on south korea was successful

what did the USA request as soon as north korea invaded south

requested a special session of the security council

why was USSR boycotting the security council at this point

due to the west’s decision to recognise the republic of china under jiang jeshi as the legitimate government and not the peoples republic of china under mao

what did USSR boycotting the security council result in

The USSR could not use its power of veto in order to block security council action - therefore a resolution requiring an immediate ceasefire was passed without opposition

why did truman legitimise intervention in korea by turning the process into a UN intervention

• it removed the possibility of the USA appearing to be unilaterally implementing containment on a global scale

• intervention under the guise of UN action removed responsibility from the USA - but enabled it to ensure an international response was coordinated to achieve the ends it wanted

• believed the UN could deliver the protection of south korea

what was the result of turning the korean conflict into a UN intervention

the resolution effectively endorsed US policy and it offered international credibility to the USA’s intent to intervene and enhanced this by widening the intervention to an international scale

how many phases were there in the korean war

four phases

phase one of the korean war

• june-september 1950

• forces of the democratic peoples republic of korea advanced into south korea and reached a perimeter point close to pusan

• chinese troops were massed in manchuria in readiness for a move into korea

• through the united nations , 29 states committed to military,economic or medical aid

phase two of the korean war

• september-november 1950

• macarthur landed at inchon and succeeded in forcing north korean forces back across the 38th parallel

• october- mao sent 300,000 chinese troops across the yalu river into north korea

• this led to major counter-attack against the UN forces

phase three of the korean war

• december 1950-june 1951

• by january , chinese forces had pushed across the 38th parallel and captured seoul

• february- the UN condemned china as an aggressor

• due to his demands that US forces should push into north korea and engage the chinese - and use air strikes and nuclear weapons against them

• macarthur was dismissed by truman in april . macarthur wanted to commit the USA to a struggle for the reunification of korea - truman feared an extension of the war and bringing the USSR into it

• by june - the USA was indicating to china and the USSR of its willingness to negotiate a ceasefire

phase for of the korean war

• june 1951- july 1953

• neither side mounted any significant military offensives during this period - the lack of UN action convinced mao and stalin that there was a genuine desire for a peace settlement

• the USA had consolidated its relationship with japan and felt more secure in its involvement with the far east

• a natural disclination to cooperate with each other plus very protracted negotiations on post-war prisoner release arrangements led to long delays in reaching a final settlement

when did negotiations for the korean war start

july 1951

when was the panmunjom armistice agreed

July 27, 1953

the panmunjom armistice agreement confirmed:

• there was to be a military demarcation line with a demilitarised zone of two kilometres on each side - the line was roughly that of the 38th parallel

• all military forces should withdraw to their respective territories

• the repatriation of prisoners would begin

impacts of the korean war

• the long term security of both north and south korea was protected - a condition of this security was that no further warfare would take place on the korean peninsula

• long term consequence= an uneasy stability

• long term security of taiwan was guaranteed by the USA - chinas chance to take taiwan ( which is based on pro american capitalist democracy) was lost after the korean war as the USA was determined that taiwan should remain under nationalist control

• the war placed a huge economic pressure on the USSR which led to stalin accelerating the industrialisation of eastern europe - which in turn led to a massive reduction in the availability of consumer goods - contributing to growing discontent of communist control from eastern europeans

• NSC-68 - the USA would encourage nations resisting soviet political aggression and a as result containment was globalised

• led to the strengthening of military resources in western europe - western germany was allowed to rearm and the prospect of an early solution to the long term future of germany was lost

• led to a deepening of cold war uncertainty in europe

why was the korean war described as a limited war

• its purpose was to restore the status quo through the prevention of the spread of communism into south korea

• although it appeared to achieve this objective - the USA was now committed to ensuring that any further spread of communism in the far east could not happen