1949-1955: Cause of the Korean War Flashcards
(12 cards)
What happened in regards to Korea during the Moscow Agreements 1945
Divided across 38th parallel with provisional governments with promise of future elections
Allies or members of South Korea
General MacArthur
Truman
Rhee
Dean Acheson
The U.N.
Allies or members of North Korea
Kim Il Sung
Mao Zedong
Stalin
Who was Syngman Rhee
President of South Korea from 1946-1960
Christian, anti-communist and Nationalist
Led an authoritarian government supported by the US
Who was Kim Il Sung
Eternal President of North Korea from 1948-1994
Nationalist and Communist
Had a totalitarian state
What was the leadup towards the Korean War
Division in Korea by UN in 1947
US persuaded UN to establish commission to supervise elections but were refused entry into north
Elections held in South Korea May 1948
How did the USA cause the Korean War
After failures of China falling to Communism and Red Scare. Truman was pressured to help contain communism. Showed this change of policy in NSC-68 with US prepared to use roll back
Defensive Perimeter Speech omitted Korea giving North Koreans a reason to invade South Korea
How did the UN cause the Korean War
The UN wanted to have world peace. Therefore wanted to deter other countries from future aggression so after seeing N.K attack S.K they needed to intervene.
Wanted to improve on failure of the League of Nations
How did Syngman Rhee (South Korea) cause the Korean War
Rhee was nationalist and anti-communist. Wanted to unite Korea and remove any communism even in the North. Therefore needed a stronger state to resist threats
Wanted to attack the North for easier reunification
How did Kim Il Sung (North Korea) cause the Korean War
Kim Il Sung was a nationalist who was willing to use force to achieve unification. Trained army in guerrilla warfare to destabilise Rhee’s regime.
How did Stalin cause the Korean War
March 1949, Kim Il Sung wanted USSR support but due to US presence Stalin rejected and rather suggested to strengthen guerrilla forces in the South. By 1950 due to the changing world view Stalin would send Soviet weapons to aid North Korea.
Not prepared to use Soviet troops as worried war there could start a US-Soviet conflict.
Not present at UN meeting to intervene in Korea as boycotting due to China not being accepted
How did Mao Zedong (China) cause the Korean War
In 1949, Mao had priority of consolidating communist control in China and was not worried about future of Korea. By April 1950 Mao had more focus on geostrategic priorities, focus on Taiwan
Some opposition as Zhou Enlai wanted to help N.K but the threat of nuclear weapons was too large so stayed out of conflict until November 1950, where intervened due to pressure from Stalin
