Korean Conflict

 South Korea North Korea Moon Jae-in(2017–) Kim Jong-un(2011–)The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government and state of all of Korea. During the Cold War, North Korea was backed by the Soviet Union, China, and its communist allies, while South Korea was backed by the United States and its Western allies. The division of Korea by external powers occurred at the end of World War II, starting in 1945, and tensions erupted into the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. When the war ended, both countries were devastated, with utter destruction of much of the countries, but the division remained. North and South Korea continued a military standoff, with periodic clashes. The conflict survived the Revolutions of 1989 and continues to this day. The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government and state of all of Korea. During the Cold War, North Korea was backed by the Soviet Union, China, and its communist allies, while South Korea was backed by the United States and its Western allies. The division of Korea by external powers occurred at the end of World War II, starting in 1945, and tensions erupted into the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. When the war ended, both countries were devastated, with utter destruction of much of the countries, but the division remained. North and South Korea continued a military standoff, with periodic clashes. The conflict survived the Revolutions of 1989 and continues to this day. The U.S. maintains a military presence in the South to assist South Korea in accordance with the ROK–US Mutual Defense Treaty. In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton described the division of Korea as the 'Cold War's last divide'. In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush described North Korea as a member of an 'axis of evil'. Facing increasing isolation, North Korea developed missile and nuclear capabilities. Following heightened tension throughout 2017, 2018 saw North and South Korea, and the United States, holding a series of summits which promised peace and nuclear disarmament. This led to the Panmunjom Declaration on 27 April 2018, when the two governments agreed to work together to end the conflict. Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. In the following decades during the Japanese occupation of Korea, nationalist and radical groups emerged, mostly in exile, to struggle for independence. Divergent in their outlooks and approaches, these groups failed to unite in one national movement. Based in China, the Korean Provisional Government failed to obtain widespread recognition. The many leaders advocating for Korean independence included the conservative and U.S.-educated Syngman Rhee, who lobbied the U.S. government, and the Communist Kim Il-sung, who fought a guerrilla war against the Japanese from neighboring Manchuria to the north of Korea. Following the end of the occupation, many high-ranking Koreans were accused of collaborating with Japanese imperialism. An intense and bloody struggle between various figures and political groups aspiring to lead Korea ensued. On 9 August 1945, in the closing days of World War II, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and advanced into Korea, at the request of the United States. Though the Soviet declaration of war had been agreed by the Allies at the Yalta Conference, the US government had agreed with the Russian government earlier that the Soviet advance would stop at the 38th parallel, which it did. The US government forces arrived a few weeks later and occupied the area south of the 38th parallel, including the capital, Seoul. This was incorporated into General Order No. 1 to Japanese forces after the surrender of Japan on 15 August. On 24 August, the Red Army entered Pyongyang and established a military government over Korea north of the parallel. American forces landed in the south on 8 September and established the United States Army Military Government in Korea. The Allies had originally envisaged a joint trusteeship which would steer Korea towards independence, but most Korean nationalists wanted independence immediately. Meanwhile, the wartime co-operation between the Soviet Union and the US deteriorated as the Cold War took hold. Both occupying powers began promoting into positions of authority Koreans aligned with their side of politics and marginalizing their opponents. Many of these emerging political leaders were returning exiles with little popular support. In North Korea, the Soviet Union supported Korean Communists. Kim Il-sung, who from 1941 had served in the Soviet Army, became the major political figure. Society was centralized and collectivized, following the Soviet model. Politics in the South were more tumultuous, but the strongly anti-Communist Syngman Rhee, who had been educated in the United States, was positioned as the most prominent politician. The rival leaders, Kim Koo and Lyuh Woon-hyung, were assassinated. As a result, two antagonistic states emerged, with diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems. In South Korea, a general election was held on 10 May 1948. The Republic of Korea (or ROK) was established with Syngman Rhee as President, and formally replaced the US military occupation on 15 August. In North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) was declared on 9 September, with Kim Il-sung, as prime minister. Soviet occupation forces left the DPRK on 10 December 1948. US forces left the ROK the following year, though the US Korean Military Advisory Group remained to train the Republic of Korea Army. The new regimes even adopted different names for Korea: the North choosing Choson, and the South Hanguk. Both opposing governments considered themselves to be the government of the whole of Korea (as they do to this day), and both saw the division as temporary. Kim Il-sung lobbied Stalin and Mao for support in a war of reunification. Syngman Rhee repeatedly expressed his desire to conquer the North. In 1948, North Korea, which had almost all of the generators, turned off the electricity supply to the South. In the lead-up to the outbreak of civil war, there were frequent clashes along the 38th parallel, especially at Kaesong and Ongjin, initiated by both sides.