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Cold War expands into Asia - Coggle Diagram
Cold War expands into Asia
BACKGROUND
Korea was divided along the thirty-eighth parallel - North occupied by USSR; South by US
despite the desire to re-unify the peninsula, both sides could not agree on the formula for elections under the leadership of the UN
USSR rejected a national poll - UNTCOK had proposed unifying the country under a democratic gov - held Soviet-style elections in the North, where only the Communist party had any chance of winning
[1948] democratic elections held in the South
REASONS FOR OUTBREAK OF KOREAN WAR
[1] North Korea's expansionist policy - nationalist aims
conflicting aims of leaders of North and South Korea over the unification and future direction of Korea
each had become leader under ill-defined circumstances - occupying powers then had chosen leaders split along ideological lines
USSR: staunchly communist Kim Il-Sung
US: authoritarian, anti-communist Syngman Rhee
both were
intensely nationalist
and aimed to reunify the peninsula and end the division of Korea - even if it meant the use of military force to defeat his opponent
BUT: Kim successfully consolidated his position - worked closely with local Communists to begin the creation of a Communist state - aimed to unify SK under similar communist control; in his favour since the majority in SK who supported reunification were leftists
[25 June 1950] Kim chose to invade - better armed and prepared, with aid from USSR while US provided SK military forces with light weapons and little training ++ USSR obtained China's agreement to support NK
[2] Ideological Reasons - superpower conflict / rivalry
extension of Cold War conflict
proxy war --> US and USSR not directly engaged in battle, but used Korea as a leverage to prevent the other superpower from expanding their control onto their side of the 38th parallel
ideological basis
SO WHAT? each was fearful that the elections would give the other an opportunity to expand its control
both sides' troops withdrew by 1949 only when they had ensured they had set up govs each ideologically sympathetic to them
extreme tensions
: Stalin agreed to support Kim when he appealed for Soviet support in his attack + obtained newly-Communist China's agreement to also provide military support for Kim
[3] Soviet Strategic Interests - national security as overriding concern
Soviet support guided by self-interests that had a strongly strategic rather than ideological basis
Korea was considered by USSR as an "Asian Poland" --> a strategic threat as it could be used as a
springboard
to attack Russia --> in her interests to install a gov in Korea that was loyal to USSR
BUT: [1948] such loyalty was no longer a guarantee since Korea had become partitioned into 2 zones + democratic gov in SK
SO WHAT? Kim's expansionist ambitions became the means / platform of protecting Soviet security
USSR provided sponsorship in the form of military equipment; Soviet generals drew up a plan for the attack due in 3-4 weeks
Korean War as a Civil War - a
power struggle confined the 2 leaders of Korea pitted against each other
not a proxy war but a civil war
high degree of independence exercised by NK; Stalin had no direct role in initiating the invasion of SK. The decision for war was primarily made by NK and later, China.
this is plausible when one considers the uncertainty over who gave the order to invade the south. Kim had discussed his plans with Stalin and the latter only urged caution and gave
no commitment to help the North
if an invasion was launched.
As a result, Kim spent tremendous effort in persuading Stalin that he should back an attack on the South. Stalin initially had no interest in these plans and Kim obtained Stalin's approval only after repeated and persistent appeals, as well as a
promise for a swift victory
- the war wouldbe won in 3 days bc of the decisive surprise attack that would not allow time for the US to participate.
SO WHAT?
superpower involvement was only for providing assistance to the 2 leaders to win the war of unification. in USSR's case:
Soviet assistance was rendered bc she saw NK as an ally
BUT Kim Il-Sung acted independently when he made the decision to invade
this denies the role of USSR as a leader in setting up a Communist bloc in the east.
this showcases Soviet reluctance at involvement - and that Soviet aims may not have been truly motivated by Cold War rivalry.
promise of "swift victory" gives Stalin the
assurance
that it would not give US enough time to intervene - highlights that they were not willing to be engaged in a direct military confrontation with the US.
to the USSR: ideally, Soviet action should not risk any conflict with the US
Stalin could also have been more amenable to the idea of NK invasion after US announced the exclusion of Korea from its defence parameters
WHY the reluctance to intervene?
Soviet's postwar aims in East Asia was influenced by how strong a bargaining position he had at the wartime negotiations at Yalta and Potsdam - which was not very strong.
in Europe, Soviet could exert more bargaining power over negotiations re Gy and Poland because the USSR had played an indisputably crucial/major role in defeating Gy (e.g. industrial equipment, reparations) while the US was playing mostly a secondary role militarily until 1994
at Yalta, re Korea, Stalin had not made any major contribution in defeating Japan except for
agreeing
to enter the war against Japan; US aims were more distinctly aimed at control of Japan - a strong adversary that compelled Stalin to set his own demands as minimal and modest (no territorial gains other than those that had been part of Russia before their defeat by Japan in 1905 war = e.g. Kurile islands, Southern Sakhalin, Chinese-Eastern Railway, Manchurian ports of Darien and Port Arthur)
hence Soviet goals may not have changed significantly despite the Soviet acquisition of nuclear capability (parity) in Aug 1949.
Rhee was unsupported by the US in early 1950 - when Secretary of State Dean Acheson proposed a defence perimeter in Asia that excludedKorea.
each leader was only taking advantage of/exploiting the superpower conflict to gain the military means and equipment needed to have a better chance of reunification
this was because both Rhee and Kim knew that neither could unify the country on their own and needed the help of the US and USSR respectively. this manifested in itself in Soviet involvement for Kim and American support for Rhee.