The Soviet Union 's Puppet

* “North Korean and Chinese documents make clear that … Mao determined early in the war that should the North Koreans falter, China had an obligation to come to their aid because of the sacrifice of so many Koreans in the Chinese revolution, the anti-Japanese resistance, and the Chinese Civil War” (Cumings 25).

In my generation, this was not the first occasion when the strong had attacked the weak. Communism was acting in Korea just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had acted ten, fifteen, and twenty years earlier. I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall, Communist leaders would be emboldened to override nations closer to our own shores. (Truman, 1955)

Potsdam Conference: The Potsdam conference brought together a meeting between Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, Britain Winston Churchill, and United States Harry Truman to negotiate the end of World War II.

The Korean War was a defining part of the United States foreign policy in the Cold War Era and was a response to threats from the Soviet Union. The Korean War was a culmination of tensions between North and South Korea that had resulted from the influences the United States and the Soviet Union inculcated into the countries during their occupation. When the Korean War was initiated, by the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, the United States and their allies in the United Nations perceived the invasion as a bold communistic expansion effort that occurred without provocation. (Document A). Further validating this idea was the fact that the attack was endorsed by the USSR, and partially lead by Red China, both of which were communist countries

February 1945: Yalta Conference: The Yalta conference was meeting held by the leaders of the 3 most powerful allied countries: the US, USSR, and Great Britain. They were there to discuss reparations in Germany. They all agreed that Germany should have a military power. Stalin, however, wanted $20 billion from Germany to pay for reparations, but FDR and Churchill disagreed. At the end of the conference, they all agree to divide Germany into four zones. The US, USSR, Great Britain, and France will each get a zone. This also led to the division of Berlin. The Yalta conference left Berlin and Germany divided until the end of the Cold War.

In 1945, the famed meeting of the heads of government of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held to discuss the reestablishment of the nations of a war-torn Europe. The Yalta Conference, held near Yalta in the Crimea, was the second of three wartime conferences held among the Big Three. The Yalta conferees, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill, confirmed the policy adopted at the Casablanca Conference of demanding Germany's unconditional surrender. There they made plans to divide Germany into four zones of occupation under a united control commission in Berlin for war crimes trials. The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive territorial compensation in the West from Germany. Discussing Poland, Churchill wanted to ensure free

While World War II ended all worries and hardships Americans faced, events gradually initiated signs of the Cold War which created an increased state of tension that swept all of America and Korea. During the 1940s, the potential Communist invasion of nations worldwide began to create a frightening reality to the people of the United States. The Soviet Union’s exportation of Communism greatly worried America as they wanted to contain Communism from all nations, especially nations in Asia. The Korean peninsula divided into two territories: a north, Soviet supported government, and a south, American supported government, a separation as a result of World War II. The Soviet Union invaded Korea, which had been under Japanese control since 1900; fearing the Soviet’s intention to seize the entire peninsula, the United States responded by quickly sending in their troops to South Korea. Truman’s decision to become involved in conflicts in Korea grew out of the Soviet Union’s radical actions, events in Asia, and internal criticism in the Truman Administration in America, providing him with an opportunity to defend a nation from a communist invasion.

The East, represented by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, advocated the destruction of capitalism and the establishment of Communism throughout the world. Opposing them were the United States and its North American Treaty Organization (NATO) allies that attempted to contain Communist expansion efforts, defending its actions through the Truman Doctrine and the Domino Theory. The Domino theory stated that if one nation fell to Communism, the neighboring nations would be affected and falls to Communism, eventually resulting in the inevitable spread of Communism throughout the world. One of the first nations that the United States and Soviet Union sought to establish control was in Korea. After 1949, when Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the spread of communism began to target the country of Korea. Following the end of World War II, Korea was divided along the 38th parallel into “Soviet” North Korean and “American” South Korea occupation zones. Heavily armed with artillery and tanks, North Korean troops crossed and invaded South Korea on June 25th, 1950. Abiding to the containment of the Domino theory, United States immediately responded to the unprovoked attack. Under the leadership of the supreme commander of the United Nations coalition forces, General Douglas MacArthur, the South Korean forces managed to push back the

North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States. Northern korea was greatly influenced by the Soviet, “fearing that the Soviets intended to seize the entire peninsula from their position in the north, the United States quickly moved its own troops into south Korea” (National Archives). This caused the US to help South Korea from the influence of communism, but the “forces are nearly pushed off the Korean peninsula” (document C). China got involved by helping North Korea since they share a border with them, feeling aligned. This war proceeded to happen for several years until 1953. This demonstrates containment because they are trying to keep communism in only these

The USSR pressured North Korea to invade South Korea, later they decided to attack. Now in Document C, The North Korean troops invaded South Korea and almost won the war, then the USA came in to support South Korea. Which after the USA came in, they pushed the North Koreans to the Yalu River. Since the ally of North Korea, China was concerned, they joined in and pushed the UN troops back to 38th Parallel. Then after some fighting, it ended in a stalemate. This also shows USA’s way of containing communism since South Korea was about to fall to communism and the domino theory might of worked. To quickly summarize. The North Korean army attacked South Korea and almost made it communist, later the USA joined and pushed them to Yalu river. Then China joined and pushed them to the 38th parallel. Later, it ended in a

Communism has been a global problem for decades, and has caused a wide array of issues. The Soviet Union and China were the main Communist threats post-World War II. The Soviets were the biggest threat, without their influence, China would not have become a Communist nation. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union after the Japanese lost World War II. They adopted a Communist government called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and was ruled under Kim Il-sung. North Korea invaded South Korea, an authoritarian country, which drew involvement from the United States, and in general, the United Nations. US involvement in Korea is debatebly because of the rising threat of global Communism and the attempt of North Korea taking South Korea.

Efforts to unify Korea resulted in more than 100,000 deaths due to guerilla warfare. In April 1950, North Korean leader Kim II Sung persuaded Joseph Stalin to back an invasion of South Korea, convincing Stalin that the United States would not intervene. Stalin agreed to provide arms, equipment, and advisors to the North Koreans (“Korean War”). Kim II Sung did not stop there as he also persuaded the newly communist Chinese to aid the North Koreans. The Korean War, (June 25,1950 – July 27, 1953), occurred when over 75,000 North Korean Army invaded the land across of the 38th parallel. American president Harry Truman was feeling heat after “letting China fall”, so Truman ordered American troops into action on South July, the United Sates entered the conflict on South Korea’s behalf. The next three years would be the darkest and most horrific in Korean history. As seen in American reporter Bill Shinn’s account, “the North Koreans were gruesome…during the occupation of South Korea, they killed over 165,000 civilians. Also, I witnessed a South Korean mass execution of civilians suspected of having helped the communists. Korea was a mess” (“The Forgotten War Remembered: Korea, 1950-1953). This shows the depths of the horror that was perpetrated in Korea for three years.

The United States and China were eagerly ready to be drawn into the Korean War. Why wouldn’t they be? After WWII, Japan was forced to relinquish Korea, among other territories that it claimed , and Korea was left to fend for herself. Korea was managing but the country could not come to an agreement on a major topic: The type of government the country should fall under as a unified nation. The northern half, lead by Kim II Sung, wanted to operate under the communist rule; but the southern half, lead by Syngman Rhee, wanted to operate under a democracy (non-communist and independent ruling). This was like a set of twin siblings arguing and fighting over which of the two of them should carry the basketball as they walk down the street to the basketball court. They are that they both want to play basketball together but they can’t agree on who should be in charge and carry the ball. Well, the older and more experienced neighbors, The United States and China, wanted to play too but since it was Korea’s court, they decided to just sit back and await a decision but could only bear to watch the argument and fight for so long. They too had an opinion about who should carry the ball or should I say which governmental theory to abide; therefore, they wanted to intervene.

In 1949, China fell into Mao Zedong’s communist forces. More than 500 million Chinese and 220 million soviets lived under communist rule. Japan ruled Korea from 1905 until the end of World War 2. Most Americans had barely even heard of Korea. After World War 2, Korea was divided into North and South (Brownstone and Franck p.238). On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. North Korea wanted

While the occupant powers were struggling to set ground for securing their interests, the Korean nationalism was at the most heated phase. Suffered through the Japanese colonial rule since 1910, the leaders of the two governments were determined to reunify Korea under their political regimes, and from their point view the only way to reach their aims was war. However, the United States and the Soviet Union were cautious not to take a role in initiating the war since neither of them was eager to prompt another to intervene. Being aware of their dependence on the superpowers, both leaders first had to gain the support of these countries to reach their goals. Until the beginning of the war, Kim Il-Sung particularly struggled hard to convince his mentor Stalin to provide him support in the war against the south.