How did tensions within Korea become part of the Cold War?

1. 2.1 How did tensions within Korea become part of the Cold
War?

3.  Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910 and
made part of the Japanese Empire until
Japanese surrender in 1945
 Potsdam Conference: Korea to be divided
into 2 occupation zones along the 38th
parallel
 USSR occupy north
 USA occupy south
 To be temporary until elections held for united
Korean government
 From 1946-47, the USA and the USSR met
several times but no agreement could be
reached

4.  In 1947, the UN called for free elections to be held in Korea to establish the
government of a united Korea…

5.  May 1948, national elections were
held in the south which were
boycotted by the communists
 Syngman Rhee was elected
 USSR refused to allow elections in
the north
 Kim Il Sung was named first
President of North Korea
 Both sides recognized each as the
only legitimate government of
Korea.

6.  South Korea
 Leader: Syngman Rhee
 Won the elections and appointed
President
 Had the support of the US
 Highly authoritarian and violent
 Wanted to unify Korea under his rule
 North Korea
 Leader: Kim Il Sung
 Appointed as the ‘Great Leader’ by the USSR
 Had the support of the USSR
 Highly authoritarian and violent
 Wanted to unify Korea under his rule

7. Why did the Korean War break out?
1. Both Korean
Leaders desired
Unification
2. Soviet support for
North Korea’s
invasion
3. Military and
Strategic imbalance
between North and
South Korea

8.  Rhee wanted to unify Korea under his rule
 Ask the USA for help
 USA thought Rhee was rash and might involve
the USA in another war
 Provided only economic aid and limited military
aid to Rhee
 Equipped S.Korean Army with only light
weapons

9.  Kim also wanted to unify Korea under his rule
 Ask the USSR for help
 Made several trips to the USSR to persuade
Stalin
 Stalin agreed to provide military and economic
support
 However, Stalin did not want any direct
involvement in Korea as he did not want a war
between the USSR and the USA
 As a result, the N.Korean Army was better
equipped than the S.Korean Army

10.  The hostility between Rhee and Kim reduced any possible form of peaceful
reunification and increased the possibility of a war.
 It was now only a matter of time before war broke out.

11.  Stalin did not want and direct
involvement in Korea
 But he changed his mind because of
2 reasons:
 Soviet Explosion of the Atomic
Bomb
 Communist victory in China

12.  In Aug 1949, the USSR successfully
exploded its first atomic bomb
 This created atomic parity with the USA
 Stalin could now support N.Korea
without the fear of American threat
(Link)
*Atomic Parity: Both USA and USSR now
have the ability to produce an atomic bomb

13.  China became communist under Mao Zedong
when he won the Chinese Civil War in 1949
 A communist China meant that there was an
ally for the USSR in Asia
 China viewed N.Korea as important as a
buffer against American forces in S.Korea
 Sino-Soviet Alliance
 Both China and USSR promised to come to
each other’s aid if either is attacked
 China could assist N.Korea
 USSR avoid direct involvement and more
willing to supply N.Korea (Link)

14. North
Korea
• Support from Stalin and Mao
• Soviet and China provided a lot of
resources to prepare for invasion of
South Korea
South
Korea
• USA only provided light weapons to
South Korea
• South Korea not included in the
American Defence Perimeter

15. “The defensive perimeter runs from the Ryukyus (Japanese islands) to the
Philippine Islands. Our relations, our defensive relations with the Philippines
are contained in agreements between us. Those agreements are being loyally
carried out and will be loyally carried out. Both peoples have learned by bitter
experience the vital connections between our mutual defense requirements. We
are in no doubt about that, and it is hardly necessary for me to say an attack on
the Philippines could not and would not be tolerated by the United States. But I
hasten to add that no one perceives the imminence of any such attack.
So far as the military security of other areas in the Pacific is concerned, it must
be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack. But
it must also be clear that such a guarantee is hardly sensible or necessary
within the realm of practical relationship.
Should such an attack occur—one hesitates to say where such an armed attack
could come from—the initial reliance must be on the people attacked to resist it
and then upon the commitments of the entire civilized world under the Charter
of the United Nations which so far has not proved a weak reed to lean on by
any people who are determined to protect their independence against outside
aggression.”

16. Draw out
Acheson’s
Defence
Perimeter.

17. 


18.  N.Korea wanted to invade S.Korea but Stalin was reluctant as he did not want to
fight with the USA
 This changed when China became a communist ally of the Soviet Union and
N.Korea
 Stalin could now depend on China in helping N.Korea to fight the war
 Dean Acheson left out S.Korea in his defense perimeter speech
 This showed that the USA will not support S.Korea should the N.Koreans attack

19. 1. Both Korean Leaders desired Unification
 hostility between Rhee and Kim reduced any possible form of peaceful reunification and
increased the possibility of a war.
2. Soviet support for North Korea’s invasion
 Soviet atomic parity
 China communist
 No direct involvement against the USA
3. Military and Strategic imbalance between North and South Korea
 Support from Stalin and Mao VS lack of support from the US
 Acheson’s Defense Perimeter Speech