The Korean War

After WW2, USA saw communism as the biggest threat
Communists in Russia planned to take over the world and spread communism, which contradicted the USA's political, economic, and ideological interests
Castro's communists in Cuba threatened the market, power, and influence that Cuba had provided for the United States
Korea and China fell to Communism, and there was a struggle in Vietnam as well
Wanted to prevent the further spread of communism
Because of this goal, the USA involved itself with several conflicts to prevent the spread of communism
One of these conflicts was the Korean War

Background Information of the Korean War

Korea was controlled by Japan in the years 1910-1945
In 1945, Japanese troops in the north of Korea surrendered to the USSR, and the south surrendered to the USA (during WW2)
Korea was split into Soviet and American zones, the USSR occupying North Korea and the US occupying South Korea
The line separating them was set at the 38th Parallel, an imaginary line 38 degrees north of the equator
In 1947, the United Nations (UNO) ordered free and fair elections to elect a demoractic government to govern the whole of Korea
In 1948, the southern region held the elections under the superision of the UNO. The anti-communist Republic of Korea was set up under Syngman Rhee, with the capital and centre of government set at Seoul.
The Soviets set up the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea led by Kim Il-Sung in the northern regions, setting the capital and centre of government at Pyongyang
Both groups claimed to be the legal government of the whole of Korea

North Korean invasion of South Korea (1950)

In 1950, Kim Il-Sung wanted to unite Korea under the leadership of the Communist Government
By June 1950, he was convinced to launch the invasion to reach this aspiration

Kim Il-Sung was supported by Stalin (leader of the USSR) and Mao Zedong (leader of China)
North Korea's military was much stronger than South Korea's (in terms of armed forces, tanks, artillery, and air forces)
Thought that the Americans wouldn't response as China was already Communist and Russia possessed an atomic bomb since August 1949, and also because statements from American politicans made it seem like defending Korea was not a main priority of the USA.

Involvement of the UNO

The UNO had been excluded in the setup of the communist government in North Korea
However, when North Korean troops invaded South Korean territory, the Security Council immediately met to respond to the threat
On 25 June 1950, the UNO passed the resolution to order the withdrawal of North Korean troops from South Korea
This resolution was only made possible because the Soviet representative was absent (which was to protest against the USA's refusal to admit communist China into the UNO) as it could veto (vote against and cancel) the decision to act on Korea
A second resolution on June 27 1950 was made after North Korea's intentions to not want to withdraw from South Korea were clear, requesting the memberss of the UNO to help South Korea repel the North Korea's military forces
A third resolution on July 7 1950 organised troops from 16 countries (including the USA) to repel North Korea

USA's attitudes to the North Korean invasion of South Korea

USA had been quite involved in the set up of the Republic of Korea (southern anti-communist government)
The USA did not want communism to spread further
The USA considered the North Korean actions to be a part of the Soviet plan to take over the world
If South Korea was successfully invaded, the USA was afraid that this would encourage China to invade Formosa (the old name for Taiwan), which was the base of the non-communist Republic of China
If Formosa and South Korea were taken down, Japan (which was a major trading partner of the USA and important far Eastern ally against communism) could be threatened as well
USA thought that in the scenario where Japan, Formosa, and South Korea fell under communist influence, the balance of power between communist and capitalist powers would collapse
Therefore, the USA wanted to prevent this shift by repeling the invasion in Korea
If the UNO failed, the USA would have most likely acted on its own
The UNO initiative was mainly led by America

Phases of the Korean War

1) North Korean Success, June-September 1950

North Korean forces successfully invaded most of South Korea
They captured the capital Seoul
South Korean and UNO troops were cornered to the territory around Pusan (in the south-east of the peninsula)

2) UNO Success, September-October 1950

A counterattack was launched by the UNO and American marines
The UNO forces pushed through North Korean troops and continued northwards
MacArthur led the American marines through the sea 200 miles behind enemy lines to capture Inchon
Seoul was freed from the North Korean forces, who retreated back to the original line at the 38th Parallel
The original UNO mission had been achieved

3) Attempt to reunite Korea by UNO, October-November 1950

UNO forces continued to push northwards with the objective to unite Korea under an independent democratic government
The mission went smoothly, North Korean resistance was weak
On the 19th of October, the UNO seized the North Korean capital, Pyongyang
A month later, American troops had attacked a long way up northwards to the Yalu river bordering China

4) Chinese attack, November 1950-January 1951

China was scared that the UNO forces would invade into China
China counterattacked, and pushed the UNO forces all the way back to past the 38th Parallel
Seoul was captured again by the Chinese and North Korean forces in January 1951
In the middle of January, UNO lines kept their position at the 37th parallel (meaning that the UNO were pushed past the 38th Parallel)

5) UNO counterattack, January-July 1951

UNO pushed the North Koreans and Chinese forces back to the 38th Parallel
Seoul fell back into the hands of the UNO in March
General MacArthur proposed using nuclear weapons, and disobeyed orders, causing Truman to order him to be replaced by General Ridgway

6) Stalemate and an armistice July, 1951-1953

UNO's results from the Korean War

Successes

The UNO displayed its power by repelling attacks by the two superpowers: the USSR and China
It took more effective action than the League ever had

Failures

The UNO failed to unite Korea under an independent democratic government
Harmful bad judgements were made (eg. MacArthur had claimed that China would not participate in the war just before the UNO would cross the 38th Parallel to try to unite Korea)
There were many casualties and great damage to the land (4M Koreans died, and many were made homeless and fell into poverty)
UNO action would have failed if not for...

The Soviet absence in the meeting of the Security Council that decided to act on Korea
The American decision to reject China into the UNO (as it had the power to veto the decision)
The American troops in Japan since 1945

To some, it seemed like the USA used the UNO to act on its own foreign policy
The Soviets complained that the UNO was just a capitalist tool to counter communism