Korean War 1950-1953

At the end of World War II, the Allies agreed that Soviet forces would accept the surrender of Japanese troops in Korea north of the 38th degree of latitude, while American troops would accept the Japanese surrender south of that line. By 1949 both the United States and the Soviet Union had withdrawn the majority of their troops from the Korean Peninsula. Failure to agree on a plan for Korean unification then resulted in two states forming: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea). Neither government recognized the parallel as a permanent legitimate boundary. The thirty-eighth parallel was fortified, and border incidents began breaking out. North Korea likely decided on a conventional war after South Korea severely reduced the guerrilla threat in the winter of 1949-50; this decision was made possible by the return of the Korean Volunteer Army from China – a force which had trained under the Chinese communists, and had participated in the Chinese Civil War. China probably offered more support than the USSR for going to war.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean launched its invasion of South Korea. The South Korean army was overwhelmed and resistance collapsed. Within a month, the South Korean army, along with four US Army divisions, were forced southward all the way down the Korean Peninsula to a small area – a territory 140 kilometers long and 90 kilometers wide – around Pusan, on the southeastern tip of the peninsula. North Korean forces failed to break through to Pusan and American reinforcements rapidly poured into the Korean foothold.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council met in emergency session and passed a resolution calling for the assistance of all UN members in halting the North Korean invasion. (The Soviet delegate, who earlier had walked out in protest against the failure to admit the People's Republic of China, was not present to veto the decision.) On June 27th, the American president, Harry S Truman, without asking Congress to declare war, ordered US forces to come to the assistance of South Korea as part of what he called the UN police action. In sum, fifteen UN member states contributed armed forces and support units to assist South Korea. An American general, Douglas MacArthur, was given overall command of the United Nations forces in Korea.

The course of the war changed abruptly on September 15th when UN forces launched an amphibious assault at Inchon – about 160 km below the 38th parallel and on a line with Seoul – effectively cutting off the North Korean army massed around Pusan. The North Korean army was then totally shattered by the convergence of UN forces from north and south, and more than 125,000 prisoners were captured. As UN forces advanced northward back to the 38th parallel, the Chinese warned that the presence of UN forces in North Korea would be unacceptable and would force the Chinese to intervene; the warnings were ignored and UN forces advanced into North Korea with the expressed intention of unifying the country. From at least October 27, 1950, Chinese armed forces were beginning to engage in the fighting. By mid-November UN forces were nearing the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China.

On November 24th MacArthur announced his planned "Home by Christmas" offensive, in which UN forces would advance to the Yalu River. The next day approximately 180,000 Chinese troops launched a counter-offensive, and by December 15th, after bitter winter fighting and a harrowing retreat, UN forces were driven southward back to the 38th parallel. On December 31st, the North Koreans, now with Chinese military support, began their second invasion of South Korea but the attack faltered and the front lines eventually stabilized along the 38th parallel.

MacArthur demanded authority to blockade the Chinese coastline and bomb its Manchurian bases. Truman refused, believing this would escalate the war into another world war. President Truman then relieved General MacArthur as UN commander and as commander of US forces in the Far East and replaced him with General Matthew B Ridgway. On July 10, 1951, truce talks began at Panmunjom while fighting continued. The negotiations dragged on for months, until after the US presidential elections in the fall of 1952 and the victory of Dwight D Eisenhower. The new president secretly informed the North Koreans and Chinese that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons and would also carry the war to China if a peace agreement was not reached. After a brief renewal of hostilities in June 1953, an armistice was concluded on July 27, 1953, and the front line was accepted as the de facto boundary between North and South Korea.

Notes

[1] Correlates of War (CoW) does not include New Zealand or South Africa.

[2] CoW includes 21,211 Chinese missing in battle deaths reported by Clodfelter.

[3] CoW includes 101,680 North Korean missing in battle deaths reported by Clodfelter. However, Clodfelter notes up to 1 million North Korean civilians died as well.

[4] CoW includes 66,436 South Korean missing in battle deaths reported by Clodfelter. However, Clodfelter notes up to about 400,000 South Korean civilians died though battle deaths is unclear.

[5] CoW reports US battle deaths of 54,487 while Clodfelter reports 54,246 which was the official American accounting. According to CNN, in 2000, the US government adjusted official battle deaths downward to 36,574 citing a clerical error.

References

Clodfelter, 1195-221; COW151; EB - Korean War; Kohn, 261-2; North Korea - A Country Study; South Korea - A Country Study.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

East Asia

Belligerents

China, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, UK, Netherlands, Greece, France, Turkey, Philippines, Thailand, North Korea, Ethiopia, Australia, South Korea, USA, New Zealand^[1], South Africa^[1]

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

June 29, 1950

Termination Date

July 27, 1953

Duration

3 years, 29 days
(1125 days)

Outcome

Unresolved Truce
(UN intervention)

Fatalities

Total: 702,898
China: 401,401^[2]
Belgium: 97
Canada: 309
Colombia: 140
UK: 710
Netherlands: 111
Greece: 169
France: 288
Turkey: 717
Philippines: 92
Thailand: 114
North Korea: 214,899^[3]
Ethiopia: 120
Australia: 291
South Korea: 46,812^[4]
USA: 36,574^[5]
New Zealand: 34
South Africa: 20

Magnitude

5.8