1 A DIVIDING LINE The Korean War was three years of battle sparked by a political conflict that still exists This war actually began at the close of another World War II ended in defeat for Germany and Japan in 1945 At the time Japan ruled Korea The peace terms called for Japan to give up control of Korea The United States and the Soviet Union were to temporarily occupy Korea Both nations agreed to a dividing line across Korea at the 38th parallel The Soviet Union supervised land north of the line The United States supervised land south of the line US troops travel through Korea on September 8 1945 days after the end of World War II
MANCHURIA Vladivostok Mukden NORTH KOREA Peiping Pusan SOUTH KOREA Yellow Mill Osaka Nagasaki An August 1950 map shows the 38th parallel The Soviet Union supported separating North Korea communism Communist dictator and South Korea Kim Il Sung took power in North Korea The United States had a capitalist form of
government and did not support communism Capitalist dictator Syngman Rhee took power in South Korea Tension grew between North Korea and South Korea over their different types of government On June 25 1950 North Korea took action North Korean troops or the Korean People’s Army KPA invaded South Korea The Soviet Union supported the KPA in their attack The United States requested that the United Nations UN defend South Korea On June 27 the UN asked member nations to join the fight US ground troops arrived in South Korea on July 1 Including the United States 21 countries came to the aid of South Korea At first their goal was to get North Korean forces out of South Korea Over the course of the war their aim became to unify Korea under a non-communist government During the Korean War both sides used a combination of both established and newer more advanced tactics Jet-powered aircraft were a major development during the war And helicopters were put to new and important uses They acted as ambulances quickly carrying injured 6
soldiers to safety This meant more soldiers survived their injuries to return home The war continued for three UN and US troops trained South Korean soldiers in military tactics before and during the war years ending in a signed armistice This put a stop to the fighting But the disagreement over government and leadership continued More than 60 years later the Korean War has not officially ended 7
