Causes of the Korean War – II

C - Timeline

Causes of the Korean War: A List of Events

10 Aug 1945	a. The USA and USSR agree to occupy Korea, dividing the country at the 38th parallel.
Sept 1945	b. The USA sets up a Military Government in South Korea, and flies in Syngman Rhee, a right-wing nationalist, who will in time become leader of South Korea.
Sept 1945	c. The Soviets bring Kim Il Sung, a communist nationalist, to be leader of North Korea.
Dec 1945	d. The USA and USSR agree a 5-year period of ‘trusteeship’ for their zones.
Oct 1946	e. Anti-US uprising in Daegu, South Korea.
1946-47	f. The US-USSR Joint Commission tries to agree a plan for unification, but fails.
Mar 1947	g. Truman declares his ‘Truman Doctrine’ of ‘containment’.
Nov 1947	h. The USA takes the issue of Korea to the United Nations, which passes a resolution to create a UN Commission on Korea (UNCOK).
May 1948	i. Sham elections install Rhee as President of South Korea. He sets about eliminating any opposition, using brutal internal security forces and the Hyangbodan.
Apr 1948	j. Anti-Rhee uprisings in Jeju and Yeosu-Suncheon are massacred (-May 1949) .
Mar 1949	k. Kim Il Sung approaches Stalin for support to invade South Korea; he is told to wait, because it would cause a nuclear war.
May 1949	l. ROK Army units successfully attack into North Korea. General Kim Sok-won tells the UN that there ought to be a program to conquer North Korea.
June 1949	m. The US Army departs South Korea, leaves $110m military equipment and 500 KMAG advisers, but not tanks or planes.
Aug 1949	n. ROK Army units are routed and driven out of North Korea.
Aug 1949	o. The USSR develops the atomic bomb.
Sep 1949	p. Kim Il Sung asks again Stalin for support to invade South Korea; again Stalin declines, but sends Kim large scale Russian deliveries of tanks, artillery, planes etc.
Oct 1949	q. Mao Zedong and the Communists conquer China. 30,000 hardened Communist Korean guerrillas who had been fighting with him return to North Korea.
1949-50	r. Rhee plans with US Supreme Commander General MacArthur to conquer the North; the ROK Army had balloons to 114,000 men. The NKPA reaches 150,000 men.
12 Jan 1950	s. US Secretary of State Dean Acheson tells the newspapers that Korea was not part of the United States security cordon in the Far East.
April 1950	t. Stalin meets Kim Il Sung and agrees to support an invasion. A war plan is formed with help from Soviet General Antonov; NPKA army units begin to move into place.
May 1950	u. Rhee loses the 1950 elections; South Korea’s government falls into chaos. v. Kim Il Sung visits Mao Zedong and secures a promise of support.
19 June 1950	w. US roving ambassador John Foster Dulles goes to South Korea, promises support, and visits the demilitarised zone with ROK ministers and generals.
25 June 1950	x. The NKPA invades South Korea.

Did You Know

Although Soviet advisers planned the NKPA campaign, it was Kim Il Sung who insisted on an invasion date of Sunday 25 June.
Nobody knows why. It was just after the longest day of the year (allowing maximum daylight for military manoeuvres); just before the monsoon rains; and lots of ROK and KMAG staff were off on weekend leave on the Saturday night.
Or perhaps it was because the campaign, planned as a war of 50 days, was due to end the day before Korea’s official Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol), on 15 August.

WHY did Stalin change his mind in April 1950?

1. The USSR had developed the atomic bomb in August 1949, rebalancing the nuclear arms race.

2. Mao Zedong and the Communists had conquered China in October 1949, changing the balance of power in the far east.

3. In January 1950, US Secretary of State Acheson admitted Korea was outside the US ‘defensive perimeter’. This reassured Stalin the war would not balloon into a nuclear world war.

4. Influential Soviet ambassador and military adviser to North Korea Terentii Shtykov supported Kim.

5. In January 1950, Shtykov informed Stalin that – if the USSR did not support an invasion, Kim would turn to China. Stalin was worried about losing an ally.

Consider:

1. Of the different theories about what caused the Korean War, I would suggest there are five main ones:

A. The War was a ‘Cold War’ attack ordered by the Soviet Union.

B. The War was a ‘Cold War’ conflict invited when the US showed weakness

C. The War was a ‘Cold War’ conflict provoked by America.

D. The War was a Korean Civil War initiated by North Korea.

E. The War was a Korean Civil War provoked by South Korea.

For each of these ideas, go through the timeline (left) selecting the facts which an historian would cite to evidence/prove that theory.
Compare your lists: which theory best seems to fit the facts?

(For those who prefer a kinaesthetic learning style, there is a card-sort revision activity for this exercise, here.)

2. Looking at the progression of dates, when do you think war became inevitable – explain your reasoning.

3. Some historians do not agree the Korean Civil War started on 25 June 1950. Can you suggest any better dates for the ‘start’ of the War?

AQA-style Questions

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