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Korean War - Coggle Diagram
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Civil War or Proxy War?
Soviet support
USSR had provided support to North Korea by organising and training the North Korean Peoples' Army (NKPA)
Soviet advisors were sent to train and equip NKPA with more weapons such as fighter planes, tanks, guns and artillery
The NKPA also had experienced soldiers who fought in the Chinese Civil War This made the NKPA a formidable force in the Korean War
By end of July 1950 the NKPA had successfully pushed the South Korean and UN
forces to Pusan
Entry of the USA
The USA as convinced the North Koreans were influenced by the USSR to launch the attack against South Korea
Truman believed that this was Stalin's plan to spread communism
He was convinced if South Korea fell, Japan and the rest of Asia would be next
He felt that American involvement was necessary to contain communism from spreading further
Involvement of the UN
The USA believed that if the UN did not take a firm stand on North Korea, it would lose all its credibility just like the League of Nations
The USA quickly mobilised the UN to condemn the North Korean aggression and pass resolutions to take action to support South Korea
On 25 June 1950, the UN Security Council the condemned North Korean invasion and called for its withdrawal from South Korea
On 27 June 1950, Truman called for use force as North Korea had not responded
16 countries agreed contribute to the UN and American forces to resist the invasion
of South Korea
The USSR could have vetoed the actions but it boycotted the Security Council at that time as the UN gave the Republic of China (Taiwan) a seat instead of the People's
Republic of China
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Entry of China
As the UN moved further into North Korean territory, they were also moving closer to China
Sept 1950, the UN granted MacArthur permission to push further into North Korea Truman cautioned MacArthur that operations in North Korea can only continue as long as Soviet or Chinese forces did not enter North Korea
Chinese Premier Zhou En-Lai warned that
If the US crossed the 38th parallel, China would intervene in the war
If the US advanced towards Yalu River, China would risk full-scale war
The proximity of the American forces was perceived as a threat as the US previously
support Chiang Kai-Shek and the KMT during the Chinese Civil War
Oct 1950, Zhou En-Lai warned the UN that 'any continuation of the Korean would lead to widening of the conflict'
Mid-Oct 1950, Chinese forces secretly entered North Korea
MacArthur defied Truman and the UN and continued to push towards the Yalu River His actions enlarged the scale of the war
Chinese forces responded to the UN advancement in late Nov 1950 and caught the
UN forces by surprise
By January 1951, the UN forces were forced to retreat.
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Armistice
:The USA, the UN, the Soviet Union and China were Keen to end the Korean war The USA, the UN and China suffered heavy casualties
However, the North and South Korean leaders did not want to end the war until they had achieved reunification
Syngman Rhee wanted to push on to Yalu River but he could not achieve his aims without the support of the UN
Kim Il-Sung depended on China and the USSR for weapons but was pressured by China and the USSR to participate in armistice talks
The external powers pressured the two leaders to sign a temporary agreement until a peace treaty could be signed
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