The Involvement Of The Usa, The Ussr, And China In The Korean War
The focus of this investigation will be “Examine the role of countries outside of Korea in their involvement in causing the Korean War, a Cold War proxy war (1945-1950)” and will analyze the reasons for involvement and how much it contributed to the Korean war. The three countries that this investigation will focus on are the USA, the USSR, and China. Therefore, Korean War 1129 by Lee Joong Keun and the Soviet Telegram of Terenti Sktykov are valuable as they offer insight into the perspectives of two of the three countries listed in their motive for starting the war.
The end of the Second World War (1939-1945) left two global superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. These two nations, opposed in both political and economic ideology began to contest one another on the political battlefield, confrontations that became known as the Cold War (1945-1991). Among these events were several proxy wars, the first occurring in the Korean Peninsula (1950-1953). This event, called the Korean War, was a culmination of incentives from various outsider nations spiraling into a global conflict incited by the actions of the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, and the United States. The Korean War was caused by the Soviet Union’s desire to spread communism and protect itself from Japanese invasion, the desire of the Chinese to bolster their economic power through business with its Communist neighbors and out of fear for US attacks on the mainland, and the promises of President Harry Truman (1945-1953) to play an active role in containing communism and protecting national sovereignty.
President Harry Truman of the United States was determined to create a Democratic and unified Korea, stationing its troops within South Korean territory before the start of the war. However, in 1949, US forces withdrew from Korea following a Soviet announcement of withdrawal and did not return until 1950 when the North crossed the 38th parallel with an attack order named “Pok Poong.” Truman’s involvement in the Korean War had roots in the Truman Doctrine, made in 1947 and calling for the protection of the world from Communist expansion. Hearing of the Northern invasion, Truman could not risk another country falling under the communist influence and made requests to send US troops to aid the weakened South. Furthermore, The National Security Council expressed their belief with NSC-68 that the USSR could only be controlled by bolstering the US and its Democratic allies, including weak pre-war South Korea. These government documents set the stage for US involvement should war in the Korean peninsula ever occur.
The United States decided to intervene in the Korean conflict early because of its similarity to the Second World War. Wanting to avoid the failures of Appeasement which strengthened the Totalitarian regimes it sought to control, Truman made plans to halt Communist expansion in Korea while it was still weak. South Korea held little resources compared to its Northern half, making the nation reliant on US support. Without US aid, South Korea would be engulfed by the North; forcing Truman to keep a presence in the South. Once the North invades in June 1950, the United Nations orders Truman to maintain Democracy. With the UN serving as a global bastion for Democracy, Truman vehemently complies.
The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin stood to gain significant resources and security from a Communist-controlled, unified Korea. Despite their defeat in 1945, the USSR feared that the Japanese would rearm and launch another mainland invasion through the Korean Peninsula, (as they had done during World War II) and began to provide monetary support to Communist North Korea. Soviet protectionism was a common theme under Stalin, who had already swallowed much of Eastern Europe to protect itself from the possibility of a revitalized Germany: controlling Korea would offer similar defense in East Asia from the Japanese. A meeting between Joseph Stalin and North Korean leader Kim Il Sung outlines the Soviet leader’s desire to obtain various minerals and arable land from North Korea, as well as take advantage of its workforce. With a Democratic Korea under the control of the US, the USSR would likely be unable to utilize the desired resources; not only would a Communist Korea allow for Soviet acquisition of Northern resources, but the ability to take advantage of Southern resources as well. Direct Soviet approval of Kim Il Sung’s planned offensive, as well as the provision of weapons to North Korean soldiers, dispels the falsehood of Soviet neutrality. By acting as a gatekeeper to the attack on the 38th parallel, the Soviet Union paints itself as the mastermind behind the Korean War.
Another primary cause of Soviet involvement was the desire to spread Communism. Following Japanese capitulation and the official end of World War II in August 1945, Japanese territory on the Korean Peninsula was split between the United States and the USSR with plans to unify the halves into a Democratic nation. However, much like in Germany, the USSR isolated its territory and turned the area, Communist. The Soviets succeeded in converting West Germany, and now sought the same level of control in a Communist Korea. By 1947, the USSR successfully implemented the Council of People’s Commissars into North Korea, which was responsible for the rapid industrial nationalization of the region. Unwilling to support a Democratic society, Stalin enforced his nation’s values upon a divided Korea. Empowered by US absence in Asia, Stalin believed a second front could be established to promote Communist expansion in Indochina using proxies. By instigating multiple Communist takeovers in short succession, Stalin could capitalize on the momentum from China’s successful revolution and control much of the continent.
As Democratic military presence began to build in Asia, the Chinese feared Democratic takeover, with Korea as the battlefield. In February 1950, the USSR and China signed a treaty that declared that Communism in Asia was to be protected from Democratic intervention. With the revolution in China still ongoing, fears of Japanese resurgence and US interference were concerning to leader Mao Zedong. When referencing the attack on the 38th parallel by North Korea in June 1950, China points to the rampant military buildup in South Korea as the reason for the preemptive strike. Fearful of a sneak attack by the South, Mao acted beforehand to prevent the expected defeat of North Korea. In 1950, China addressed the US, warning that should US troops cross the 38th parallel, the Chinese will declare war. Afraid that a Democratically-unified Korea would set US sights on Chinese liberation, Mao hoped to prevent their ally’s fall with military presence.
Struggling with its civil war, China sought economic stability from its neighbors and rapid removal of the US presence in Asia. In April 1950, China made plans with North Korea to expand trade to bolster its crippled economy. If North Korea fell, China would lose a valuable trade partner, which could hinder its efforts to fight off Chinese rebels. In May, the Chinese economy became largely dependent on Soviet resources. With Stalin cultivating a war in Korea, the Chinese would be forced to participate or lose all Soviet assistance and collapse. With the US occupation of Taiwan in June, Mao feared US aid would come to Chinese rebels fighting Communism in China. Busying the US with a war in Korea would hopefully give the time needed to strengthen the Communist hold in the country.
The Korean war (1950-1953) was a Cold War proxy war stemming from ideological disputes between Democratic America and Communist USSR and China. As tensions in the Communist North began to rise, provisions of the Truman Doctrine forced President Truman to intervene on grounds of protecting and upholding the sovereignty of Democratic nations. The USSR, seeing the potential gain in resources and labor, as well as the providing of a buffer zone against a rebuilding Japan, sought to gain communist control over the Peninsula by force, using leader Kim Il Sung as a proxy for Soviet operations. The Chinese, struggling to support itself without Soviet help, was forced to participate in the preparations for war or risk collapse by US invasion efforts to end Communism within Asia.
