Korea was the "wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy."
-General of the U.S. Army Omar Bradley in 1951-
Historical Background
Raising the U.S. flag in Seoul after lowering the Japanese flag in 1945
(photo: The Hankyoreh) The Inaugural ceremony of President Rhee in 1948
(photo: Wikipedia) |
In 1945, foreign ministers of three countries (the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom) held a meeting in Moscow and discussed a variety of world issues. After a series of debates over the future of Korea, they agreed to establish the US-Soviet Joint Commission in Korea, after the Japanese defeat. In August 1945, as Japan surrendered to the United States, Korea was liberated from the Japanese empire that had ruled the country for 35 years. Although Korea was liberated, it was not recognized as an independent country but remained as a UN Trusteeship territory. Because there was no official map of the Korean peninsula published in the United States, U.S. officials looked at the map in a National Geographic magazine and noticed that the 38th parallel roughly runs across the waist of the peninsula. The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to rule the South and North, respectively, to the 38th parallel and hold a meeting in the near future to discuss establishing a Korean government. The U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission was held once in 1946 and once in 1947, but both meetings failed to produce a solid plan for establishing a Korean government, due to the unstable political situation in Korea and constant disagreements between the United States and the Soviet Union. Without any significant outcome, the Commission transferred the Korea issue to the United Nations in 1947, and turmoil in Korea exacerbated. In November 1947, the United Nations adopted a resolution supporting holding a general election, yet the North expressed its objections to having an election in which the numbers of elected representatives would be proportionate to the population since there were more people residing in the South at the time. The general election was only held in the South, and the first National Assembly was formed in May 1947 headed by future South Korean President Syngman Rhee as the United Nations declared the result of the election. In the North, the North Korean government was founded in September 1948 headed by Premier Kim Il-Sung.
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United Nations Temporary Commission On Korea(UNTCOK) Resolution 112(II)
(credit: The National Archive of Korea)
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The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 195(III)
(credit: The United Nations General Assembly)
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Acheson and the Korean War
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out as the North Korean army backed with the Soviet tanks, artilleries, and jets crossed the 38th parallel. This was about five months after Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech to the National Press Club in January of the same year. The State Department urgently considered all possible means, including calling for the UN Security Council, to stop the North Korean aggression because they were afraid the war may proliferate to other regions, such as Formosa and Indochina, if they could not stop it at this point. On June 27, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution urging for cease-fire and assistance from member states. Fortunately, there was no Soviet veto in the Security Council which Acheson anticipated because the Soviet delegation argued for Communist China’s joining the council and made a mistake of boycotting the meeting. Dean Acheson was “Truman’s strong right hand.” (1) He kept President Truman well informed and advised during the wartime and successfully drew international cooperation against the Communist violation of peace and the UN charter. The UN forces consisted of 17 democratic nations from the United States to Ethiopia, under the command of UN Commander Douglas MacArthur, soon retrieved Seoul and pushed the North Korean Army over the 38th parallel. Contrary to the original intervention plan of recovering territories governed by South Korea before June 25, 1950, Commander MacArthur misjudged and made the oversight of invading North Korea over the 38th parallel in an attempt to unify the Korean peninsula. Secretary Acheson too did not oppose Commander MacArthur's idea of invading North Korea. Gathering momentum from a series of victories, the UN forces pushed the North Korean Army close toward the North-China border in November 1950. It seemed like the unification of Korea and the victory of the free world against the fiendish Communists were near, yet the United States soon realized that they should have ended the war after propelling North Korea back to the 38th parallel. Fearing the UN forces' close advance to its border, China in late 1950 dispatched the People's Liberation Army to help North Korea, and the intervention of China not only extended the duration of the war but also led the war into another phase. Confronting China's 'human-wave strategy,' the U.N forces retreated from the North Korean territories by early 1951, and Seoul again fell into the hands of North Korea on January 4, 1951. Fortunately, the UN forces could retrieve Seoul and the vicinity of the 38th parallel by March 1951. After the United Nations started negotiation for a ceasefire in the Korea peninsula with China and North Korea in July 1951, Acheson argued for voluntary repatriation to break the deadlock of the armistice over the captive repatriation issue.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 (June 25, 1950)
(credit: UNSC)
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 83&84 (June 27, July 7)
(credit: UNSC)
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Four phases of the Korean War
(photo: MUNESCO)
(photo: MUNESCO)
<Secretary of State Dean Acheson criticizes Chinese aggression in Korea, in Washington DC, United States (1950)>
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<Dean Acheson, Secretary of State delivers a speech during Korea war Washington DC, United States (1952)>
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<President Truman addresses the nation on the issue of Korean War and signs an emergency proclamation in Washington D.C.
(Dec. 18, 1950)> |
<President Truman Speaks To The United Nations On Korea (1950)>
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Casualties during the Korean War (1950-53)
South Korean soldiers excavating remains of fallen soldiers
(photo: The Korea Economic Daily) A Repatriation of Remains Ceremony in 2018
(photo: CNBC) The Korean War memorial in Washington D.C.
(photo: TripSavvy) |
KIA (Killed In Action)
South Korea: 137,899 United Nations: 40,670 North Korea: 520,000 China: 116,000 WIA (Wounded In Action) South Korea: 450,742 United Nations: 104,280 North Korea: 120,000 China: 220,000 MIA (Missing In Action) South Korea: 32,838 United Nations: 9,931 North Korea: 120,000 China: 29,000 (data: Statista) North Korea returns US war remains - BBC News
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Footnotes
(1) “Dean Acheson: NATO’s architect,” The Guardian, October 14, 1971, 4. [ProQuest Historical Newspapers]
(1) “Dean Acheson: NATO’s architect,” The Guardian, October 14, 1971, 4. [ProQuest Historical Newspapers]