The Soviet Union, The United States, and The Roots of The Korean War

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

On April 14 1950 NSC-68 a 58 page top secret policy paper was presented to President Harry S Truman by the United States National Security Council. It was a very important statements of American policy in the Cold War. NSC-68 provide the blueprint for the militarization of the Cold War. It called for an expansion of the military power and defense budget of the united states development of a hydrogen bomb,and increased military aid to be allies.The US could not expect other countries to stop communism and the United States must estimates itself in a non communist

The Korean War begun far before North Korea had launched their first assault upon South Korea. Nearing of the end of the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula had been under Japanese control. Soon enough it was liberated by both American and Soviet forces, the Soviets occupying the country north of the 38th Parallel, and the Americans south of it. After the war, neither the Koreans, Soviets, nor the Americans could agree on the country's government. This resulted in the foundation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north (Ohn Chang-Il, 23). The fact that neither the States nor the Soviets were willing to compromise on anything was a prime factor in the separation of the Korean Peninsula.

The Korean war began on June 25th 1950 immediately upon North Korea’s attempt to invade South Korea. Soon after in June 27th 1950, the United nations intervened to stop this from happening, this had both a positive and negative aspect to it. The war began as a civil war between both the North and South of Korea, but it soon became international. This war proved how the United States would do anything to prevent the spread of communism. Not only was it the first war of the Cold war to have machinery which made it all the more deadlier but it was also the first war in which whites and African Americans fought side by side.

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.

A ton of history was made at the time of the Korean War. The Korean war was a horrible thing that millions of people had to go through. Some past history examples include, “The Korean War was the first major war of the Cold War era (Korean War.pdf)”. The Cold War began in 1947 and it was a big impact on the start of the Korean War. Some people say the Korean War was an episode of the Cold War. The Korean War is the first major proxy war fought between the United States and a Soviet communist supported enemy. “A proxy war occurs when one or more opposing powers

Overshadowed by the previous, long and devastating Second World War, the Korean War became known by Canadian veterans as the "Forgotten War". After Japan's defeat in World War II, Korea was split into two parts, North Korea and South Korea. North Korea was occupied by the communist country of USSR while South Korea was held by the Americans and other democratic nations. War officially broke out on June 25, 1950, when the North Koreans assaulted across the country's division on the 38th Parallel with their men and artillery behind them. North Korea and its leaders wanted to unify the whole country from its division by taking over South Korea under their government. North Korea was allied with China and the Republic of Korea was

The Korean War was a much bigger conflict than most of us living in the United States know. The US fought in the war for three years, but the war started in 1910, 40 years before the US joined, and is still going on today in Korea. One of the main issues with the Korean War was that the Americans tried to fight it in order to establish a new system over one that had been in place for millennia before that. The United States did not really understand the background of the war, which had been brewing for 40 years before the United States stepped in. The problem with this was that the Koreans already had an established government and way of life that had been in place for centuries, but the United States wanted to turn the country into a democracy and a colony.

The Korean War, also known as the “Forgotten War” began on June 25, 1950. On that day, about 75,000 soldiers from North Korean, with the help and advice from the Soviet Union, cross the 38th parallel. The 38th parallel is “the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south” (History.com). Within three days, the North Korean People’s Army was able to capture Seoul, the capital of South Korea. This invasion marked the beginning of the Cold War. Fearing the spread of Communism, the United Nations and United States agreed to send troops to South Korea, and on the 1st of July 1950, American troops arrived to South Korea to help the democratic South Korean to fight against the North Korean communist invasion. The Americans goal was to prevent the spread of Communism.

The United States geared up for a war against communism. Not more than a day after Seoul fell, the US had officially entered the war and had ground troops committed, an action backed by the U.N. At the beginning of the war the U.S. soldiers had little combat experience and they were in a foreign land. This was the reason for the mass casualties sustained by the U.S. “US Army casualties from June 25 through July 31, 1950 totaled 6,003: 1,884 Killed In Action, 2,695 Wounded In Action, 523 Missing In Action and 901 reported captured. Of these more than half were from the 24th Infantry Division- 3,610.”( Evanhoe, Ed. "The Korean War." The Korean War. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.korean-war.com>.)

Consequently, in the southern half the Republic of Korea (ROK) was established under the leadership of Syngman Rhee in May 1948 with the backing of the United States; the Soviet Union, on the other side, supported the establishment of the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Kim Il-Sung. With the formation of two different governments in one nation, the division of Korea was now absolute. The leftist communist ideology prevailing in the north and the pro-American rightists in the south drove the country into an inevitable polarization.

The Korean War was Kim’s idea of reunification through the use of military force. * Soviet Union did not even want to be involved in a war. It was Kim’s idea to get the go ahead with the war and launch the attack against the South. * Most of the soldiers involved were Korean and Chinese, and fought for their own cause of reunification or liberation. 260,000 North Korean, 926,000 Chinese and 590,911 South Korean soldiers involved. * Soviet and American soldiers were not as heavily involved in the fighting, and mostly did so for their political security rather as a desire to fight each other. 480,000 Americans and 26,000 Soviet soldiers involved.

Over the course of the 1950s, no event captured the tension of the infamous Cold War more than the Korean War. Fought to prevent the spread of communism in Korea, the Korean War was a bold political victory for the United States because America sent a clear message to the entire world, as it was the first military action of the Cold War, that the spread of communism will not be tolerated by the strongest military in the world, the United States. In addition, the Korean War was an economic benefit for the United States due to the increase of military spending and preserved the freedom of the South Korean people. However, the Korean War is often labeled as the “forgotten war” due to the failure of the United States to eliminate communism in

According to Robert, without Korean War there would be a huge difference in the world’s history. In addition to that Robert also stated “the Korean war shaped the course of the cold war by both resolving the incoherence which characterized U.S. foreign and defense efforts in the period 1946-1950 and establishing important new lines of policy”(1980). The Korean War led to the changes of policy through three processes in changes on the domestic political situation, defense budget and NATO. The domestic policy changes let the leader of the country to do whatever they wanted to do before (Robert,

After the end of WWII in 1945, Korea 's division was marked by the US and Soviet occupation of the 38th parallel. Based on the 5.10 South Korean general election held under the auspices of UNTCOK in 1948, the Republic of Korea was established on the 15th of August on the South side of the 38th parallel. On September 9th of the same year, based on the People 's Committee of North Korea, the Democratic People 's Republic of