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THE KOREAN WAR

THE KOREAN WAR. A Civil War or a Cold War Conflict?. Why was Korea divided at the 38 th Parallel after WWII??. The Japanese annexed Korea in 1910 and remained in power until 1945

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THE KOREAN WAR

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  1. THE KOREAN WAR A Civil War or a Cold War Conflict?

  2. Why was Korea divided at the 38th Parallel after WWII??

  3. The Japanese annexed Korea in 1910 and remained in power until 1945 • Expecting a long war, the US asked the Soviets for help and decided to ‘swallow’ Soviet control in Manchuria and Korea in exchange • With the end of the Asian-Pacific war, the US State Department agreed to divide Korea at the 38th Parallel [General Order #1] A TEMPORARY DIVISION!!! But became formal in 1948 as both sides could not agree on the terms of a unified Korea

  4. Syngman Rhee – SOUTH (Capitalist & Agricultural) • 1875-1965 • Ph.d from Princeton in International Law • First President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) 1948 • Wanted a unified peninsula • Led the country until 1960, lived in the United States in exile until his death in 1965

  5. Kim Il Sung – NORTHCommunist and Industrial • 1912-1994 • Family moved to Manchuria • Part of Chinese Communist Army • Became head of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 1948 • 1950 he launched a military campaign to unify Korea

  6. Why was the Defensive Perimeter Speech Important? Dean Acheson

  7. Dean Acheson : Secretary of State • Defense perimeter Speech Jan, 12, 1950 • US military strategy re: Asia • War plans to defend against communist threat, focus on Japan, Ryukyu islands, Guam, Philippines • BUT NO MENTION OF KOREA

  8. What were Stalin and Mao's roles in the start of the Korean War? According to Todd….

  9. Stage 1: North Korea attacks http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/maps/koreatxt.html

  10. Why US action? • They ‘lost’ China to communism 1949 • Domino Effect (fear) • Took advantage of the “empty chair” • USSR was boycotting the UN Security Council over China’s seat (not recognize Mao), US passes a resolution for a UN force for Korea (no Soviet veto)

  11. UN FORCE • 300,000 troops • 15 countries participate: US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, France, Greece, Netherlands, Panama, Thailand, Turkey, UK • 260,000 were US troops General MacArthur leads the force

  12. Stage 2: Americans pushed to the Pusan Perimeter • July 5 saw the first battle between American and North Korean troops, and the Americans did not fare as well as they expected. By the end of July, the North Koreans had pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of the peninsula, where they dug in around the port of Pusan.

  13. A South Korean soldier comforts a wounded buddy before he is evacuated, July 28, 1950. Troops of the Republic of Korea (ROK) were responsible for defending the eastern portion of the peninsula. Photo: Department of Defense. Source: Truman Library.

  14. Refugees moving south in the P'ohang sector after receiving evacuation orders from the South Korean army, August 12, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army. Source: Truman Library.

  15. Stage 3: Inchon MacArthur completely changed the course of the war overnight by ordering -- over nearly unanimous objections -- an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul. • The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon, recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North Korean supply lines. • On September 27, MacArthur received permission to pursue the enemy into North Korea. ROK forces crossed the 38th parallel on October 1, opening a fateful new chapter in the conflict.

  16. Stage 4: Approaching the Yalu Despite warnings from the Communist Chinese through an Indian diplomat that "American intrusion into North Korea would encounter Chinese resistance," MacArthur's forces continued to push north. In their meeting at Wake Island on October 15, both Truman and MacArthur took comfort in the General's assertion that "We are no longer fearful of their intervention,...if the Chinese tried to get down to Pyongyang there would be the greatest slaughter." On October 25, however, things turned ominous. The Chinese army, which had been massing north of the Yalu River after secretly slipping into North Korea, struck with considerable force. After suffering setbacks, the U.N. forces stabilized their lines by November 5, only to watch the Chinese withdraw northward as quickly as they had struck. MacArthur was now worried enough to press Washington for greater latitude in taking the fight into China. He nevertheless launched a great offensive toward the end of November, which he optimistically hoped would end the war in Korea and "get the boys home by Christmas." It proved a terrible miscalculation.

  17. Stage 5: An entirely new war • MacArthur's "all-out offensive" to the Yalu had barely begun when the Chinese struck with awesome force on the night of November 25. Number vary, but approximately 250,000 soldiers. On November 28, a shaken MacArthur informed the Joint Chiefs, "We face an entirely new war." • Chinese fear US approach to their border. Also fear Chiang Kai-Shek may try to launch an attack from Taiwan

  18. Column of US soldiersAmerican troops walk along the edge of a mountain road in North Korea as they move toward the central front in this July 15 1953 photo. About 8,200 US servicemen are still missing from the Korean war, which began on June 25 1950.Photo: AP

  19. Stage 6: Stalemate • General MacArthur openly advocated using nuclear arms (30 to 50 bombs) and openly criticized Truman. • Not only did Truman decline for fear of widening the war, but he fired MacArthur, who had been publicly challenging him for months, for insubordination on April 11, 1951 • Back to a containment policy (Todd 217-218)

  20. STALEMATE 1951-1953 • Disagree over Prisoners of War • Disagree over demarcation line • Stalin pushes Kim to get as many concessions as possible

  21. EISENHOWER 1953 • J.F Dulles Secretary of State • “New Look” Foreign Policy • Brinkmanship (use more confrontation with USSR and China, including nuclear weapons) • Rollback **More rhetoric than reality**

  22. ARMISTICE July 27, 1953 Panmunjon

  23. WHY WAS IT REACHED? • Stalin dies in 1953 • Eisenhower threatens use of nuclear weapons • Agree over POWs • After the armistice, 50,000 communist POWs were released; approximately two-thirds of the Chinese asked to go to Taiwan. Of 12,000 U.N. prisoners released by North Korea, 21 U.S. prisoners and one Scot chose to stay in China.

  24. Nk pow’s July 10, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army.Source: National Archives Central Plains Region.

  25. THE DMZ TODAY

  26. ## By the numbers ## • 3 years • 38th parallel (back to the start) • 10 million deaths/casualties • 1.3 million SK deaths • 1 million Chinese deaths • .5 million North Korean deaths • 54,000 US deaths • 4,500 allied deaths • 5 million Korean homeless

  27. IMPACT: Cold War is Global • More aggressive US policy • Seek more defence $ • 1950 US Defence spending $13.5 billion • 1953 Defence spending $50.4 billion • US as the global policeman • Increase US paranoia (McCarthy witchunt)

  28. IMPACT • INCREASED COLD WAR TENSIONS • Arms race (conventional and nuclear) • ANZUS, SEATO • Sino-Soviet tensions • Stalin not provide enough aid to Mao • Sino-US hostility ANZUS FIRST MEETING SEATO FLAG

  29. South Korean napalm victimThe caption on this US army photo identified this man as a South Korean victim of a napalm bombing raid near Suwon, South Korea, on January 29 1951. Gasoline-gel napalm bombs were used extensively by US forces during the Korean war. Photo: US army, AP http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,,855249,00.html

  30. NASTY WAR • Both sides used torture • US claims soldiers were brainwashed • US used POWs to test germ warfare • Biological weapons (anthrax, plague) used for the first time in modern warfare by the US • Civilians were bombed

  31. KOREA TODAY • http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/0,,331519,00.html

  32. QUESTION: To what extent was the Korean Conflict a product of Cold War tensions?

  33. BACK HISTORY • http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,,855083,00.html

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