Chapter 8

North Korea and the USSR - Kim Il Sung: trained in the USSR and fought alongside the Chinese communists against the Japanese, tapped on propaganda extensively + promoted self-sufficiency and tried to isolate the country from the rest of the world to limit external influence and opposition + also convinced that Korea should be under ONE rule - USSR: did not allow elections to take place because they were keen to establish their political and economic influence over the zone of occupation → with their support North Koreans established the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or NK) on 9 sept 1948 - Forces redrawn at the end of 1948 South Korea and the US - May 1948: 80% of the population took paart in a national election at the 38th parallel - US backed Rhee for the position as president as Rhee campaigned for Korean independence during Japanese occupation + he was anti-communist, fluent english speaker and graduated from a prestigious uni in US - Rhee: became increasingly authoritarian, arresting/killing his opponents (including suspected communists) + believed Korea should be united - US: continued to support Rhee to prevent spread of communist influence from the North Tensions between NK and SK - Kim: tried several times to convince Stalin to support reunification of Korea → Stalin not interested as Soviet resources were stretched thin due to WWII + he only wanted to create a buffer zone of communist states in E.E. to protect USSR + he was not keen to stir up more conflict with US and further stretch Soviet resources by arming and supplying NK for war - Rhee: eager to reunify Korea, but Truman refused to provide too much equipment and resources as he was scared it would be used to attack NK → Rhee still initiated border clashes to capture territories in the North though

- July 1949: SK warships attacked NK military installations near Taedong river, sinking most of NK’s west coast fleet → 1949 onwards: fierce fighting, small scale assaults and heavy casualties occurred at the 38th parallel US and Soviet disinterest in Korea - US: lay Korea outside their “defensive perimeter” in the asia-pacific (security policy announced on January 1950 by US secretary of State) - Soviet Union: Stalin reluctant to support as he did not want to risk direct confrontation with US Expansion of communism in China: - Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fought against the Guo min dang (GMD) and CCP won, China becoming a communist state in October 1949 → US concerned about the implications of China turning communist - US: pumped $2 billion aid into China to support GMD → but since they were defeated they moved to Taiwan (off Chinese mainland) → US feared communism might start spreading throughout Asia → refused to accept CCP is the legitimate government and continued to look after GMD in Taiwan - Soviet: delighted → supported Mao and the CCP and since they won, SU now had a powerful ally against US - 1950: Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance → which set out various agreements about land and transport in East Asia + loan of $300 million from USSR to help rebuild China USSR’s atomic bomb: - August 1949: USSR detonated its first atomic bomb → US no longer had the upper hand → so in late 1949 and 1950s Stalin was softer when it came to supporting Kim invading SK US response to Communism in Asia - Spies (US) reported that Stalin was using cominform to help communists win power in Malaya, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea etc → US feared that communist countries were

acting together to spread communism and would overrun asia + convinced that Stalin was orchestrating a process of communist expansion worldwide - April 1950: National Security Council Paper No.68 (NSC-68) + US defensive perimeter expanded - NSC-68: proved that Truman would be inclined to intervene if a war broke out → he could not risk NK winning as it would be a triumph for communism and a humiliation for the US Stalin and Mao shift their positions on Korea - Stalin: before 1950s → reluctant to help → but because of developments related to the CW → both superpowers sought to expand their global influence (esp in asia-pacific) + having control and influence over NK would give USSR a platform to spread communist ideology and counterbalance US influence in Japan - Mao: could be responsible for supplying troops and support for NK if war broke out + even though he was wary of getting involved → was keen to show China was a force to be reckoned with - Kim: could also be credited for changing their minds → he had a large army of well-trained and experienced troops → his determination, skill and persistent and determined advocacy for invasion of SK might have been the one that won over Mao and Stalin Korean war: 1950-1953 - 25 June 1950: NK invaded SK - Truman sent advisors, supplies and warships to SK + put tremendous pressure on UNSC to condemn NK’s actions and to call on them to withdraw troops - US: biggest contributor to the UN budget and it was in a position to influence UN decision + largest contributor to UN forces (under the command of US general Douglas MacArthur) - UN: committed to using member forces to drive NK out of SK → troops from other countries (turkey, indonesia, thailand) fought alongside with SK troops → other countries sent medical services and transportation

Course of KW June-Sept 1950: NK forces advanced rapidly → captured Seoul (capital) and most of SK → SK forces held on to a small area at Busan, which allowed UN forces to reinforce them and hold back NK advance Sept–mid-Oct 1950: - UN forces landed in Incheon + UN forces in Busan drove NK back → MacArthur achieved original objective of removing NK from SK BUT he did not stop there as he wanted to limit operations north of 38th parallel aka eradicate communism - China: multiple warnings that it would intervene to defend its border and launch a full-scale war if Americans crossed the 38th parallel and advanced towards Yalu River (MacArthur continued to advance) + Mao did not want a unified Korea that was non-communist and an ally to US → felt like his personal and China’s prestige was at stake Mid-Oct 1950–April 1951: - Chinese forces began crossing into NK secretly - MacArthur defied direct orders from Truman and UN and continued to advance towards the Yalu River, potentially expanding the scale of the