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| The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950 with Communist North Korea's invasion southward across the 38th parallel, the line of demarcation. The war went on for three years until an armistice was concluded in 1953. North Korea's communist leader Kim Il-seong unjustifiably attacked South Korea under the support of Stalin and Mao Zedong. In the Korean War, the South secured the world's freedom and democracy against the spread of communism with the help of allies. |
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The Outbreak of the War |
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The independence of "Chosun" was guaranteed in the Cairo declaration of December 1943. This was reaffirmed in the Potsdam declaration in July 1945. However, the independence was to be accomplished at "an appropriate time". Under the situation, Japan surrendered in August 15, 1945 and the Korean peninsula was divided into two across the 38th parallel by the US and Soviet Union for military purposes. The foreign affairs ministers of the US, Soviet Union and Great Britain held a meeting in Moscow in December 1945. The three agreed to put Korea under trusteeship for 5 years. The Korean people held strong opposition movements against trusteeship. However, the leftists turned favorable towards trusteeship |
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under the influence of Soviet Union and this brought about political chaos. The situation in Korea was a turmoil with anti- trusteeship movements. To deal with the problem, the US and Soviet Union held two committee meetings, in 1946 and 1947, However, the meetings were broken off, bearing no resolutions. In September, 1947 the US submitted the problem to the United Nations despite Soviet Union's opposition. This brought the divided Korea into the international front under ideological discord of the US and the Soviet Union. In November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly formed a temporary committee on Korea and declared that elections should be held throughout the nation under supervision of the committee. However, the Soviet Union army that was occupying the North prohibited the entry of the UN committee members who begun their work in early 1948. |
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The UN announced that elections will be held in areas where supervision is possible. So in May 1948, an election was held only in South Korea and the government of the Republic of Korea was established in August.
In the 3rd UN General Assembly held in December, the Republic of Korea was acknowledged as the only legitimate government on the Korean peninsula. North and South Korea formed separate governments and this meant territorial division. After establishing the government, North Korea asked for withdrawal of US and Soviet armies. In response, the Soviet Union that was geographically closer to Korea first started to withdraw troops in October 1948. In South Korea, there was a suggestion that US troops remain to contain North Korean threat. |
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This led to temporary delay of withdrawal of the US troops. However, in June 1949, the US army completed withdrawal from South Korea leaving behind only a military supervisory group of about 500 people. |
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The 38th parallel that was originally a temporary military demarcation line became a de facto border between the two Koreas with the establishment of separate governments. In the process of division, North Korea deliberately boosted its military force with the support of the Soviet Union. By October 1948, when the Soviet army completed withdrawal, North Korea held 4 completely-armed Infantry Divisions and the Armored Unit 105 equipped with Soviet T-34 tanks. On March 17,1949, North Korea and the Soviet Union concluded a secret military agreement. On March 18, 1949, North Korea concluded a mutual defense treaty with China and about 25 thousand Korean soldiers in the Chinese army were sent to North Korea. Therefore, North Korea was able to deploy 10 army divisions of 130 thousand soldiers along the 38th parallel. |
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In addition, reserve forces of 100 thousand were stationed in the rear. With the powerful military force and the change in domestic and international order, Kim Il-seong conceived a plan to communize the Korean peninsula. Externally, US troops withdrew from South Korea in June 1949 and China was communized in October the same year. Also, in January 1950, US Secretary of State Acheson announced that Korea and Taiwan will be excluded from the US's Far Eastern defense line. Also in late 1949, Kim Il-seong visited the Soviet Union and got approval from Stalin to invade South Korea. |
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In early April, 1950, Kim Il-seong confirmed his plan to communize the Korean peninsula in a national political committee of the Korean Workers' Party. To conceal the invasion plan, the North Korean communist party made gestures of peace by holding a high-level legislative meeting for North-South reunification in Seoul and by insisting the establishment of a unified government by the parliaments of North and South Korea. Meanwhile, in South Korea the security guard and the coast guard units under the US army were reorganized as the army and the navy after the establishment of the government in August 1948. In April 1949, the marine corps was formed and the air force was established in October. The South's military power amounted to 100 thousand. |
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However, the South Korean military's lack of equipment made it inferior to the North Korean counterpart. Also, there were no reserve forces in the South. Furthermore, four out of the eight army divisions were deployed at the rear far from the 38th parallel to sweep communist guerillas. |
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The war that broke out at the Wungjin Bando at 4 A.M. June 25,1950 expanded eastward along the 38th parallel. Overwhelming the South Korean army, North Korean forces dominated the war soon after the outbreak. At the beginning of war, even though North Korea carried out a limited range of attack with only half of its forces, the South Korean army was devastated. Heading south at a fast pace, the North took over Seoul in just 3 days. |
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