War in Korea and Crisis in the Congo HOW EFFECTIVE HAS THE UN BEEN?

Q: Why was there a war in Korea?  A: The North invaded the South

Q: Wait a second. Remind me, who were the leaders of North and South Korea in 1950 again? A: Syngman Rhee (ROK) A: Kim Il-Sung (DPRK)

Q: Why did the North invade the South?  A: Since 1910, the Korean peninsula had been occupied by both the Japanese  Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, Korea was administered by both the USA and USSR- the Soviet zone was everything north of the 38 th parallel and the American zone was everything south of the 38 th parallel  Therefore, North Korea had a communist government but South Korea had a non-communist government  The Cold War originated in Europe but soon spread; Mao’s Communists winning the Chinese Civil War was the first Cold War event in Asia  North Korean leader Kim il-Sung asked Stalin if he could invade the South  Stalin said: “Yes!”

Q: This might sound stupid but why did Stalin agree to such a thing?  A: The Cold War was on  Stalin was a pragmatist  He thought the US were not interested in South Korea  They seemed to be more interested in Japan  He thought there was an opportunity, following the establishment of the PRC, to bring the entire Korean peninsula into the Soviet sphere of influence?

Q: Who fought the Communist North?  A: South Korea!  And UN forces

Q: Hold on a second! The UN? I thought this was the Cold War! Surely the US were involved?  A: Well they were, but Truman saw this as a perfect opportunity to show the world that the UN could be more effective than the League of Nations  This was a clear case of aggression from one country towards another  So the UN sent troops to defend the South  These forces included US soldiers but also troops from UK, Canada, Colombia, Australia, Belgium, France, Philippines, Greece, Ethiopia, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey and Thailand

So this cartoon was kind of true! A: Yes, Truman called it a “police action” in order to get approval from Congress

Q: Hang on- If there were UN troops in Korea, a Security Council Resolution needed to be passed. Why didn’t the USSR or China veto it?  A: Well, neither country turned up when they were debating the resolution

Q: Holy Moley! Why not?  A: The USA was stopping China from taking their seat on the Security Council because they had refused to recognize the new government there. Technically their were two Chinas- The People’s Republic of China (PRC- the Mainland) and The Republic of China (ROC- Taiwan). The USA said that Taiwan should have China’s seat.

Q: Very sneaky! But what about the USSR?  They were boycotting the UN in support of the PRC

Timeline- actual events  March Kim-Il Sung fails to gain permission from Stalin to invade South Korea  June USA complete withdrawal from South Korea  September USSR successfully detonate their first atomic bomb  December Mao seizes power in China and establishes the PRC  January- US Secretary of State Dean Acheson announces the Outer Pacific Defense Perimeter; South Korea is not included in this  April- Stalin permits a DPRK invasion of ROK on condition that PRC would provide support if needed (Mao not present at this meeting)  May- Kim-Il Sung meets with Mao, who agrees to Soviet condition  June- DPRK invade ROK; UN passes resolution 83 authorizing use of force in defence of ROK