Containment Korea

Question 1

Describe Korea following the second world war

Answer 1

1. Until 1945 ruled by Japan
2. The northern half had been liberated by Soviet troops
   and so the North remained Communist-controlled with a Communist leader who had been trained in the USSR and with a Soviet-style one-party system
3. The southern half had been liberated by Americans and so the South was anti-communist and was not very democratic, but the fact that it was anti-Communist was enough to win it the support of the USA
   -There was bitter hostility between the North Communist’s leader, Kim II Sung and Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea
   -In 1950 North Korean troops overwhelmed the South’s forces
   -By September 1950 all except a small corner of south-east Korea was under Communist control

Question 2

How did the USA respond to North Korea’s attack?

Answer 2

1. President Truman immediately sent advisers, supplies and warships to the waters around Korea
2. Truman put pressure on the UN Security Council to condemn the actions of North Koreans and to call on them to withdraw their troops
3. The US was the single biggest contributor to the UN budget and was therefore in a powerful position to influence its decisions

Question 3

Why did the UN agree to fight in the North Korean War?

Answer 3

1. Normally in a dispute such as this the Soviet Union could have used its right of veto to block the call for action by the UN
2. However at the time the USSR was boycotting the US over whether Communist China should be allowed to join the UN
3. Therefore when the resolution was passed the USSR was not even at the meeting to use its veto
4. Therefore Truman was able to claim that this was a UN-sponsered operation, even if Soviet newspapers and other media claimed that the decision was not valid

Question 4

How did the UN fight in Korea?

Answer 4

1. Under the resolution the UN committed itself to using its members’ armies to drive North Korean troops out of South Korea
2. 18 states including Britain provided troops or support of some kind, mostly allies of the USA
3. However the overwhelming part of the UN force that was sent to Korea was American

Question 5

Describe the UN actions in 1950

Answer 5

1. United Nation forces stormed ashore at Inchon in September 1950
2. At the same time, other UN forces and South Korean troops advanced from Pusan
3. The North Koreans were driven back beyond their original border (the 38th parallel) within weeks

Question 6

Describe the UN action in October 1950

Answer 6

1. MacArthur had quickly achieved the original UN aim of removing North Korean troops from South Korea
2. However the Americans did not stop, despite warnings from China’s leader Mao Tse-tung, that if they pressed on China would join the war, the UN approved a plan to advance into North Korea
3. By October, US forces had reached the Yalu River and the border with China
4. The nature of the War had now changed and it was clear that MacArthur and Truman were after a bigger prize, which went beyond containment
5. As the UN forces advanced and secured their positions, Truman and MacArthur saw an opportunity to remove Communism from Korea entirely and even Mao’s warnings were not going to put them off