The Widening Of The Cold War (2) Flashcards
What was the country in Asia that became important in the Cold War after it was not included in the Defensive Perimeter Strategy?
Korea
What was the situation in Korea pre-WWII?
Korea annexed by Japan (Since 1910)
Who were Korea forced to fight for in WWII?
Japan
What decision was made about the future of Korea during the WII conferences?
Cairo Conference (Nov 1943) (Britain, US + Chiang Kai-Sheck)
- Korea should be free + independent (from Japan)
- Country will become a trusteeship
- Stalin agreed to this in 1945
Potsdam Conference (Aug 1945) (Britain, US, Soviets) - US proposed (+ Stalin agreed) to supervise the future of Korea through 2 zones of occupation (Soviets in N, US in S) until elections for its unification (that never happened!)
What did the Korean trusteeship involve?
Supervision by international powers (USA, Soviets, Britain, KMT) until Korea stable enough to control own future
What happened to the leadership in Korea post-WWII?
North:
- USSR occupational zone
- Worked with local elected leader Kim Il Sung
South:
- USA occupational zone
- Worked with local elected leader Syngman Rhee
What state did North Korea become? When?
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (Sept 1948)
What state did South Korea become? When?
Republic of Korea (ROK) (Aug 1948)
Who was Kim Il Sung?
- Strong communist
- Leader of the DPRK (North Korea)
- Military background, fighting the Japanese
- Spent time in USSR, being groomed as potential post-WWII Korean leader
- Regarded as less of a puppet of foreign powers
Who was Syngman Rhee?
- Strong nationalist + anti-communist
- Leader of the ROK (South Korea)
- Spent 40 yrs in USA, so had strong support from US figures
- Often regarded as a puppet of the USA, BUT this wasn’t entirely true
Give evidence of an event to show that Syngman Rhee wasn’t entirely a puppet of the USA
Bodo League Massacre (Summer 1950)
- 300,000 suspected Korean communists executed without trial
- Rhee’s idea
- Labelled by MacArthur as an “internal matter”
What were the internal causes of the Korean War?
Conflicting goals of the two Korean zone leaders
KIM IL SUNG
- Aim: to unite Korea under a communist regime
- Gained external support + physically attacked to start conflict
SYNGMAN RHEE
- Aim: to unite Korea under a capitalist regime
How did Kim Il Sung get external support for his invasion of South Korea?
Sought support from Soviets:
- March 1949: Soviets gave advice to use guerrilla warfare
- May 1950: Soviets pledged them weapons
Sought support from PRC:
- April 1950: initially seemed unwilling to physically support, but did (Oct 1950)
Why did Kim Il Sung think that a physical attack on S Korea would successfully achieve his goal of uniting country under communism?
Thought he would have a rapid, decisive victory
- 200,000 communist supporters in South (to help)
- Well-organised guerrilla force in South (to help)
- USA wouldn’t have time to intervene
What was the trigger cause of the Korean War?
Kim Il Sung’s DPRK forces invading South on 25th June 1950
What were the external causes of the Korean War?
External powers fuelling the build up of tensions on the peninsula (by backing the diff regimes/ideologies) + then fuelling the war
STALIN/USSR
- Fuelled building tensions: wanted a united, communist Korea
- Fuelled war: advised Kim to strike + supplied weapons
MAO/CHINA
- Fuelled building tensions: PRC just became communist (implicit support)
- Fuelled war: provided soldiers to DPRK
TRUMAN/USA
- Fuelled building tensions: divided Korea, wanted a united, capitalist Korea
- Fuelled war: supplied soldiers to ROK + encouraged UN to do same
UN
- Fuelled war: acted as legitimisation for US + allies to supply soldiers
What was Stalin’s aim in Korea? Why?
- To support a communist (DPRK) victory (by supplying weapons), in order to gain Korea as an ally (+preventing its alliance with China)
- To make this support subdued (rather than all in providing men etc) to avoid conflict with US (that could be nuclear)
How many weapons did the USSR supply to DPRK?
- 1600 pieces of artillery
- 178 military aircraft
- 258 T-34 tanks
What was Mao’s aim in Korea? How did this change over time? Why?
Originally:
- To not be involved in conflict, wanted to strengthen PRC internally after recent victory
After Oct 1950:
- To support a communist victory (by supplying soldiers), to remove the US’ threat in Asia (currently advancing on China through Korea + had 7th fleet stationed in Straits of Taiwan to support Mao’s opponent)
Why did China think that it was safe from US nuclear attack, therefore enabling Chinese to act as soldiers?
Said they were too close to USSR to be threatened by nuclear weapons
What was Truman’s aim in Korea? Why?
- To support a capitalist (ROK) victory (by supplying soldiers), to protect Korea from turning communist and having a domino effect upon Asia
- To make this support subdued (by supplying soldiers under the UN) to avoid conflict with USSR (that could be nuclear)
Why were the UN entitled to provide troops to defend the ROK?
The UN supported freedom and self-determination of all states, and Kim Il Sung was attempting to usurp South Korea
How did the US manage to persuade the UN to intervene in Korea and support the ROK?
USSR were boycotting the UN, so were unable to veto
- Because were protesting that UN failed to recognise Mao as holder of China’s seat
- Gromyko (Soviet politician) said they were deliberately boycotting + not vetoing, to draw US into a draining overseas war
What type of war was the Korean War for the superpowers?
Proxy war
