KOREAN WAR

Background Information  World War II ended in August 1945  It wasn’t long before the Soviets invaded North Korea; the US supported South Korea  Korea was divided at the 38 th Parallel into two governments 2

The Two Governments  A Communist Korea  Led by Kim Il Sung  A Republic Government  Led by Syngman Rhee North KoreaSouth Korea 3

The Allies Views on Communism  US President Harry Truman created the Truman Doctrine  Pledged support to any country in defense of Communism  British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke out against Communism  His “Iron Curtain” speech stressed the concern of Soviet control in Eastern Europe 4

Armed Conflict  Begins with the invasion of South Korea by the North on June 25, 1950  Immediately, the UN condemns North Korea  Two days later, the US pledges air and naval support  For four months, the UN troops made their best efforts to defend South Korea from the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) 5

A Shift to Offense  Beginning in September 1950, US and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops begin their goal of recapturing Seoul, the capital of South Korea  In October, Communist Chinese Forces join the NKPA  Fighting continues into 1951  General MacArthur pushes Truman to use atomic weapons 6

Ending the War in Korea  Fighting continued through 1952 despite occasional talks of peace  On July 27, 1952: the armistice is signed at 10:00; both sides must retreat to their side of the cease-fire line within two days 7

The Cost of Korea  Financially, the war cost the US $67 billion  Almost 34,000 American lives were lost in battle, over 20,000 in accidental deaths  Over 103,000 were wounded  8,000 were listed as MIAs  3,700 were POWs  North and South Korea have never agreed to a peace, so the DMZ (demilitarized zone) continues to be a patrolled area 8