CONFLICTS AMONG COUNTRIES CAUSES OF NATIONAL CONFLICTS

WHY DO CONFLICTS OCCUR AMONG COUNTRIES? We have seen :  Competition for Scarce Natural Resources – Conflict over fishing grounds – Conflict over water supplies Now we shall look at  Different Values and Beliefs – Conflict between Democracy and Communism  Competing Claims over Territory – Conflict over border

Different Values and Beliefs CONFLICT BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND COMMUNISM

DEMOCRACY VS COMMUNISM  End of WWII : USA and USSR emerged as the two major powers in the world  USA : Democratic political system  USSR : Communist System  These political systems became competing models for countries that had become independent after the war  Result : A world divided between communist and democratic countries

DEMOCRACY VS COMMUNISM  Suspicions increased between each other  Each claimed to be a superior system  Each convinced that the other wanted to destroy their way of life  Much fear and suspicion existed although there was no direct war  One example of conflict arising from ideological differences is that between North and South Korea

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  Before WWII, Korea was occupied by Japan  Japanese surrender in Aug 1945 : the Korean Peninsula was divided into two at the 38 th Parallel [Remember Michael of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”? He had to answer this question!]  Both US and USSR agreed to this division  Soviet troops would occupy the northern part of Korea temporarily while Americans occupied the south  Both forces would later withdraw so that the UN could organise an election for a reunited Korea

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  1947 : UN called for an election to establish a single government for a reunited Korea  USSR refused to allow an election in the north and created a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea  Capital was at Pyongyang  North Korea became a communist country

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  Aug 1948 : Elections held in the south  The independent Republic of Korea or South Korea was formed  Capital : Seoul  South Korea had the support of USA  Thus, there were two separate countries in the Korean Peninsular

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  1949 : Soviet and American troops had withdrawn from North and South Korea  Governments of the two Koreas each claimed the right to rule the whole Korean Peninsula  1949 to 1950 : Frequent border clashes broke out between North and South Korea  Jun 1950 : War broke out when North Korea suddenly invaded South Korea in an attempt to unite the Korean Peninsula under communism

 USA and its allies agreed to help defend South Korea with the support of the UN  Afraid that communism would spread to the south  Did not want communists to extend their influence into South Korea

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  UN troops used Pusan as their base, a major port at the southern tip of Korea that possessed an airfield  They attacked and defeated the North Koreans  Captured Inchon and Seoul  Instead of ending the war, the American President, with the approval of the UN, ordered an invasion of North Korea

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  The Chinese communists had come into power in China in 1949  They warned that they would attack if the UN troops crossed the 38 th Parallel into North Korea  They would not allow their North Korean ally to be totally defeated  Nor would they allow UN troops to be near China’s border  The warning was ignored

 End Oct 1950  End Oct 1950 : UN troops not only reached Pyongyang but also further north to the Yalu River, the border between NK and China

 China felt threatened and moved into NK  Mid-Jan 1951  Mid-Jan 1951 : Chinese army pushed UN troops back into SK and occupied Seoul

 UN troops counter- attacked and drove the Chinese back to the 38 th Parallel

NORTH VS SOUTH KOREA  The invasion of SK quickly became a bigger conflict involving USA and its Western allies on the one hand and China on the other  Finally in 1953, an agreement was signed to stop the fighting  A demilitarised zone was created between NK and SK  Up to today, the Korean Peninsula remains divided as such  The Korean was the first time in history when a number of countries grouped together to prevent one country from forcibly taking over another and changing its way of life

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE The photos in the leaflet were taken from an American pilot shot down north of the DMZ. It was used by North Korea for psy-war.

PARTISAN HONOR MEDAL Awarded to Korean and American personnel who served with the 8157th and 8240th Army Units

CIVILIAN VICTIMS This young woman was killed moments before, doubtless by stray or inadvertent fire from advancing UN forces, as she struggled through soaking brush, desperately seeking safety for her small family. Hair still neatly parted, she lies where she fell backwards into an irrigation ditch. Her arms, no longer able to hold and protect, thrown wide in death. Her children, swaddled in their clean blankets, know something truly terrible has happened, but can't understand what.

IN MEMORIAL…..