Why did North Korea invade South Korea in June 1950, and why did USA act so decisively to defend the South?
Hamid Johri
Why did North Korea invade South Korea in June 1950, and why did USA act so decisively to defend the South?
Before 1945 Korea was controlled by Japan. After the Second World War, USA and the Soviet Union split Korea into two. This cause a divide in the country and another divide in the ideals. USA was preaching capitalism and democracy. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was looking to spread communism. North Korea invaded South Korea to try to form a stable, united Korea as it was before the end of the Second World War. USA acted decisively to defend the South to stop the threat of communism and to continue their policy of containment. They did not want communism to spread.
The division of Korea led North Korea to invade South Korea to obtain a united, undivided Korea. From 1905 to 1945 the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese control. During its occupation, Japan built up Korea's infrastructure, especially the street and railroad systems. However, the Japanese ruled with an iron fist and attempted to root out all elements of Korean culture from society. During this time Koreans sought to form an independent statehood. Unfortunately this led to Communists and rightists disputing over who would rule an independent Korea. The Independence Movement on March 1, 1919, was brutally repressed, resulting in the killing of thousands, the maiming and imprisoning of tens of thousands, and destroying of hundreds of churches, temples, schools, and private homes. The Korean Communist movement conducted a low-level guerrilla war against the Japanese. The Soviet Union invaded Manchuria and annihilated the Japanese. From Manchuria the Soviet Union marched on into Korea. The US President, Roosevelt, wanted to place Korea under international trusteeship. At the Tehran Conference in 1943, it was agreed upon by the allies, that Korea should be run under an international trusteeship before becoming fully independent. Stalin agreed to this and a partition was made at the 38th parallel. USA had control of the capital Seoul and also the bulk of the Korean population. The Soviets supported Communism in North Korea. Their desire in Korea derived from their desire to maintain a sphere of influence in East Asia. Kim Il Sung was appointed the leader of the Korean Communist Party when it was officially formed in July 1946. The Soviets and Communists purged all non-Communists in leadership positions from North Korea. After elections in North and South Korea both premiers thought that they were the legitimate rulers. Violent skirmishes and fights broke out along the border between North and South Korea. These events added tension to the relations between North and South Korea.
Another factor in why North Korea invaded South Korea was support from Stalin and Mao. Stalin had already proved that he was interested in North Korea by helping to set up the Korean Communist Party. He was interested in Korea because he wanted to maintain a sphere of influence in East Asia. He did not want Korea to become a staging ground for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Kim Il Sung, the North Korean leader, had been trained by the Soviet Union and, in the Second World War, had fought against the Japanese as a guerrilla in Manchuria. With the help of the Soviets the North Korean Communist party was formed in July 1946. Kim established authority over prominent figures in the party with the help of the Soviets. With these developments, North Korea was progressing to cohesive statehood. Next, Kim looked to China for support. The Chinese had an interest in Korea because American power in the Pacific threatened the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Impressive American air and naval forces and a string of bases in the Western Pacific were poised off China’s coast. Furthermore, the Chinese Nationalists had received American military assistance throughout the Chinese Civil War. After the civil war, the USA did not recognise the PRC and used its veto power to prevent the PRC from taking the seat designated for China in the UN Security Council. USSR and China became closer following the end of the Chinese Civil War because in early 1949, Mao outlined future PRC foreign policy. It was based on the principles of making a new start, consolidating the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) domestic position, fostering economic growth and ‘leaning to one side’. USSR’s and China’s alignment was due to shared Communist ideology and also to increasing confrontation with USA. In August 1949, Stalin sent experts to China to advise in economic reconstruction and military expansionism. Stalin offered the PRC $300 million in loans. In early 1950 the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship was signed between USSR and China. It entailed that each country would aid the other in the event of an attack by a third party. China also received another loan of $300 million, which was to be spent on purchasing arms from the Soviet Union. In March and April of 1949 Kim visited the Soviet Union and signed an economic and cultural agreement. The two countries also signed an arms pact, in which the Soviet Union promised to expand the North Korean armed forces. Kim was pressing Stalin to support an invasion of South Korea. Stalin rejected the idea at the time because he did not want to get involved in a situation, which would provoke USA and South Korea into a war. By September 1949, Stalin was beginning to consider an invasion of South Korea. Stalin had four reasons. The Communist Bloc was bigger in East Asia. Second, Russia exploded an atomic bomb. Diplomacy was failing for the West. An fourth, there was a perceived weakening of Washington’s resolve to fight a war over Korea. Stalin did not think that USA would intervene in an invasion of South Korea. In January 1950, Dean Acheson, Secretary of State implied that South Korea was not in America’s interest. Also, on 19th January the House of Representatives rejected the administration’s Korean Aid Bill. This rejection forced the impression that Americans did not greatly care about Korea. In April 1950, Kim secretly visited Stalin. Stalin gave the go-ahead for the war. There would be no direct Soviet intervention but they would supply the arms. Then Kim visited Mao in China and Mao also agreed. The invasion started on 25th June 1950. North Korea propaganda claimed that it was a reaction to a South Korean attack. Truman was in Washington and he was outraged. Therefore the intervention and support of Stalin and Mao was critical, and a main factor in why North Korea invaded South Korea.
