THE KOREAN WAR JUNE 1950-53

Question 1

• WHAT WERE THE CAUSES OF THE KOREAN WAR?

Answer 1

• THE DIVISION OF KOREA- IN 1945, THE ALLIED POWERS TEMPORARILY SEPARATED NORTHA ND SOUTH AND KOREA HOPING FOR UNIFICATION AT A LATER DATE HOWEVER NEITHER SIDE WAS WILLING TO SUBMIT TO THE OTHER AND NO ELECTIONS TOOK PLACE
  -BOTH SIDES WANTED A UNITED KOREA BUT WANTED TO LEAD IN THEIR OWN WAY AND BOTH SIDES USED THE TENSION TO GAIN ALLIES
  -NORTH KOREA LED BY KIM IL SUNG WAS BACKED BY COMMUNIST CHINA AND THE USSR WHILST SOUTH KOREA LED BY SYNGMAN RHEE WAS BACKED BY THE UN AND US
  -BOTH SIDES MADE IT CLEAR THAT THEY WOULDN USE FORCE IF NECESSARY

Question 2

• WHAT MILITARY ACTION TOOK PLACE?

Answer 2

• SOUTH KOREAN FORCES HAD BEEN PUSHED TO PUSAN, OPERATION CHROMITE WAS 261 UN SHIPS LANDING AT KOREA AND AND PUSHING NORTH KOREAN TROOPS BACK, AT THIS POINT, STALIN WAS REFUSING TO SEND TROOPS FOR FEAR OF DIRECT CONFRONTATION WITH THE WEST

-MAO SENT 300,000 TROOPS TO KOREA AND STALIN WAS STILL ONLY SENDING MILITARY SUPPLIES, THIOS GAVE TRUMAN THE C CONFIDENCE TO SEND TROOPS INTO NORTH KOREA

• CHINA SAW THAT UN TROOPS WERE NEARING THE NORTH KOREAN/CHINESE BORDER AND SENT 200,00 TROOPS, THIS CAUSED UN TROOPS TO RETREAT- GENERAL MACARTHUR WANTED TO US ATOMIC BOMBS ON CHINA BUT TRUMAN SAW THIS AS EXCESSIVE AND HE WAS DISMISSED IN 1951

-STALEMATE

Question 3

-1951 PEACETALKS- HOW DID THE WAR END?

Answer 3

-1953- STALIN DIES WHICH MAKES PEACE MORE LIKELY
-THE FOLLOWING YEAR, PEACE TYALKS COMMENCED AND A CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED BETWEEN CHINA,NIORTH KOREA AND THE US( CALLED THE PANMUNJON AGREEMENT)
-SOUTH KOREA REFUSED TO SIGN BUT WAS FORCED TO ACCEPT IT

Question 4

-WHAT WERE THE USSR’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WAR?

Answer 4

• STALIN WAS HESITANT TO GET INVOLVED AND WANTED TO AVOID DIRECT CONFRONTATION WITH THE US WHICH IS
  WHY HE REFUSED TO SUPPORT MAOS ATTACK IN 1949 WHEN HE WAS ASKED
• HOWEVER STALIN SAW THE BENEFITS OF JOINING THE WAR:
  -HE COULD PROMOTE HIMSELF AS A STRONG COMMUNIST LEADER
• HAVING ANOTHER COMMUNIST COUNTY COULD PREVENT CHINA FROM BECOMING A POTENTIAL RIVAL
  -IF NORTH KOREA WAS VICTORIOUS, IT COULD CONVINCE JAPAN TO DO THE SAME

Question 5

-WHAT WAS CHINA’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WAR?

Answer 5

• CHINA WAS A NEWLY COMMUNIST COMMUNIST COUNTRY AND AT THE START OF THE WAR MAO WAS HESITANT TO JOIN AS HE WANTED TO CONSOLIDATE HIS POWER IN CHINA
  -HOWEVER MAO BEGAN TO SEE THE WAR AS A WAY OF ENHANCING HIS POWER AND REPUTATION ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
  -MAO THOUGHT IT WOULD ADVANTAGEOUS TO HAVE A COMMUNIST BUFFER ZONE
• SAW THE WAR AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOVER HIS POSITION IN TAIWAN

Question 6

• WHAT WERE THE US’ MOTIVATIONS FOR JOINING THE WAR?

Answer 6

• WANTED TO CONTAIN COMMUNISM
  -BELIEVED THAT STALIN ENCOURAGED THE WAR TO DESTABILISE ASIA
  -PROTECT TAIWAN FROM CHINA

Question 7

• WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE KOREAN WAR?

Answer 7

-THE LONG TERM SECURITY OF NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA WAS PROTECTED
THE PANMUNJON AGREEMENT SIGNED ON JULY 1953- IT WAS REQUIRED THAT ALL MILITARY FORCES RETURN TO THEIR OWN COUNTRIES AND ALL PRISONERS OF WAR BE SET FREE AND ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME
- US ISSUED A LONG TERM GUARANTEE THAT TAIWAN WOULD BE SECURE FROM
-STALIN DIES IN MARCH 1953