Korean Conflict
North Korea and South Korea was once one
country combined. That changed soon
after World War II. Since the Soviet
Union controlled North Korea it was mainly
Communist. North and South
Korea were separated on the 38th parallel line. The
United States
controlled South Korea so it was mainly democratic. The Korean War
began on
June 25, 1950, when troops from Communist-ruled North Korea invaded
South
Korea. The Korean War was the first war in which a world organization,
the
United Nations (UN), played a military role. The UN thought that the
invasion
was "a violation of international peace," and demanded that the
Communists
withdraw from South Korea. After North Korea kept fighting the UN
asked it’s
member nations to aid South Korea with military help. Sixteen
countries sent
troops to South America and 41 other countries sent military
equipment, food,
and other supplies. China fought on the side of North Korea,
and the USSR gave
military equipment to the North Koreans. North Korea
invaded South Korea because
there was a disagreement between the two
countries. The UN General Assembly told
Korea to hold elections
throughout the entire country. The elections were to
choose one government
for the entire country. The Soviet Union opposed this idea
and would not
permit elections in North Korea. On May 10, 1947, the people of
South
Korea elected a national assembly. The assembly chose to set up
the
Republic of Korea. On September 9, North Korean Communists
established the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. When both North
and South claimed the
entire country, their troops collided. North Korea had
about 135,000 soldiers in
their army. Most of the soldiers fought for China
or the Soviet Union in WWII.
North Korea had many advantages over the
South Korean Army. The North had
airplanes, artillery, and tanks. South Korea
had about 95,000 soldiers, few
planes or heavy guns, and absolutely no tanks.
When the UN joined with South
Korea, at their strongest, they had about
1,110,000 soldiers. Approximately
590,000 were South Koreans, and about
480,000 were Americans. The other 39,000
were from Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Colombia, France, and other countries. At
one point during the war
North Korea had the South pushed so far south that the
only city they could
retreat to was Pusan. Finally, after years of fighting, the
Korean War
ended on July 27, 1953. The UN and North Korea signed an armistice
agreement.
A permanent peace treaty between South Korea and North Korea had
never been
signed. However, US military presence is being maintained constantly
to
discourage any aggression between the two countries.