What caused the division between North and South Korea?
1 Answer
Political and ideological rivalry between the Communistic powers in the north, and the democratic powers in the south.
Explanation:
At the end of world war II the Russian forces had declared war on Japan and occupied the territories of Manchuria and North Korea.
These are areas that it had fought for and lost in the Russian, Japanese War of 1904 and 1905
Russia wanted to maintain control of the region and set up a communistic dictatorship in North Korea. The Russians armed and trained the army of North Korea.
America had fought the Japanese and with the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II took control of South Korea. The US set of a 'democratic " government in the south allowing free elections. The US then removed most of the occupying American troops.
The UN called for a vote of the people of both North and South Korea regarding the future of all of Korea. South Korea and America feeling that the democratic form of government would prevail in the elections allowed the voting. The Russian fearing that the communist form of government would lose blocked the elections in the North.
Shortly after the elections were held exclusively in the south, the north declared the elections invalid and invaded the South. The North Korea forces were better trained and equipped than the South Korea forces and threatened to completely overrun the south and unified the two parts of Korea.
The US intervened in the conflict and with daring amphibious landing cut the North Korean army off their source of supplies and fuel. With the North Korean army destroyed the UN forces led by the US marched north to the Korean Chinese boarder to unify the two parts of Korea.
The Chinese fearing an American dominated nation on their border intervened. The Chinese forces drove the outnumbered American forces back to the original dividing line separating the Communist North from the Democratic South. Satisfied the Chinese forces stopped at the original line and a truce was declared.
The truce is still in place with no resolution or ending of the war between the Communistic dominated North and the Democratic South. The division established at the end of World War II remains in place.
