Korean War - The Conflict in Korea

The Conflict in Korea"Never before has this nation been engaged in mortal combat with a hostile power ...without even formally recognizing a state of war." (MacArthur quoted in West and Phillip, 2001, 195)The Korean War was the civil and military struggle that was fought on the Korean Peninsula between 1950 and 1953. It originated in the division of Korea after the Second World War. The rivalry between the two Koreas drew third party countries into political and ideological disputes, such as the ongoing dispute between the United States of America and the USSR. There were many conflicts between the communists and capitalists during the Cold War era, commonly known as proxy wars, and the most serious incident occurred in Korea. Why did North Korea cross the 38th parallel and invade South Korea? This essay will argue that the primary reason is that; the Soviet-backed North Korean Communist government led by Kim Il Sung attacked the American-backed South Koreans with the aim of unifying the two Koreas and expanding communism.

While trains were used to transport U.S. Soldiers ...

Territory often changed hands early in the war, un...

English: Armistice Agreement, DPR Korea

The Soviets provided military and economic aid to North Korea in the hope of gaining a valuable buffer zone in Asia.

In the months following the conclusion of the Second World War, the then unified Korea, split into two - North and South, both taking different steps in ideology which ultimately led to the Korean War. The Soviet Union controlled the North, while the US controlled the South. The North was transformed into a communist state under the control of the Soviet Union and the dictator Kim Il Sung, who was a dedicated communist who had fought for the Red Army during WW2 (Dictatorofthemonth, 2008). This made a recipe for disaster, considering that South Korea was under command by the Americans who were predominantly capitalist and in the focal point of...