Notes for World History
THE NUCLEAR WAR IN KOREA [1]
Background to the war
- Korea had been under Japanese occupation since 1910.
- When the Japanese were defeated in 1945, the USA and the USSR agreed to divide the country into two zones – South Korea and North Korea.
- In 1949, Russian and American troops were withdrawn, leaving a dangerous situation; most Koreans resented the artificial division forced on their country by outsiders, but leaders of both North and South Korea wanted to rule the whole country.
- North Korean troops invaded South invaded South Korea in 1950.
Why did North Korea invade the South?
It is not still clear why North invaded the South, however, the following reasons may be responsible for it:
- North Korea may have been encouraged by the new Chinese communist govt.
- Russia may have backed North Korea as a communist takeover of the South Korea would strengthen Russia’s position and also make up for Russia’s failure in West Berlin against Americans.
- Probably, North Korean leader Kim Sung himself wanted to unify the peninsula, and both USSR and China approved the plan and promised for help.
