Notes for World History
THE WAR IN KOREA (2)
USA takes action:
Reasons for US decision to intervene:
- US took the invasion of South Korea by North as a Russian plan to spread communism.
- US saw the invasion as similar to Hitler’s policies of aggression and therefore wanted to check it.
- US thought it important to support United Nations to preserve peace.
Thus, US decided to support South Korea. With UN support, USA ordered invasion of North Korea aiming to unite the country and hold free elections.
China resisted the US invasion and launched a massive counter-offensive. In order to avoid a large scale war, peace settlement was reached in 1953, accepting the divided Korea.
Results of the war:
- Both North and South Korea remained intensely suspicious of each other and heavily armed.
- The UN had exerted its authority and reversed an act of aggression, but the communist world denounced it as a tool of the Capitalists.
- China had prevented the unification of Korea under American influence and was now clearly a world power.
- The conflict brought a new dimension to the Cold War; American relations were now permanently strained with China as well as with Russia.
- In an attempt to encircle China, US helped formation of SEATO, a defence agreement.
