Korea was originally a part of the Japanese Empire. In November 1943, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek met at the Cairo Conference to discuss what should happen to Japan’s colonies, and agreed that Japan should lose all territories it had conquered by force. After WWII, Korea was given to the US and the Soviet Union. September 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel, a communist northern half and an American-occupied southern half. The Korean War was the first military action of the Cold War. Jun 24, 1950 - North Korea invades South Korea; some 750,000 North Korean soldiers made their way across the 38th parallel Sep 15, 1950 - U.S. troops invade at Inchon; US forces push back the North Korean army back north of the 38th parallel Oct 19, 1950 - Pyongyang falls to UN forces; North Korean capital is now under control of the UN Nov 4, 1950 - Chinese divisions enter the fight; With increased opposition, the UN stalls and then collapses. The Chinese push the UN south of the 38th parallel and capture the South Korean capital of Seoul Jul 1951 - Negotiations begin at Panmunjom; talks dragged on until 1953 Jul 27, 1953 - An armistice is signed; both sides were willing to accept a ceasefire. …show more content…
the agreement allowed POWs to live wherever they want; drew a new boundary near the 38th parallel, giving South Korea an extra 1,500 square miles of territory; and created a 2-mile wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) Nearly 5-million people died, more than half of these-about 10 percent of Korea’s pre-war population-were civilians. Almost 40,000 Americans died, more than 100,000 were wounded. Even though an armistice was signed, there was no official peace treaty; technically the Korean War hasn’t ended. Soldiers on both sides patrol the DMZ, and there are constant problems and skirmishes on the DMZ. At any moment, North Korea could launch a nuclear warhead on South Korea. The UN needs to step in and put sanctions on North Korea and enforce them to keep North Korea from building more nuclear weapons.
The North Korean government is not in the best shape. Kim Jong-un is executing people because they don’t agree with him-or he doesn’t find them agreeable enough-and their families, claiming ‘plucking up evil by the roots’ as the best way to deal with dissent, and insulting North Korea’s allies. Three or more North Koreans are not allowed to gather at anytime, anywhere – apparently to exclude conspiracies that might aim to overthrow the government. Penning ‘anti government’ posters, distributing ‘reactionary’ leaflets or engaging in ‘superstitious practices’ may all lead to extreme punishment, such as death to the condemned individuals’ family members (spouse, children and grandparents), or at least incarceration. This is his way of ‘plucking up evil by the roots’. The North Korean armed forces are extremely short on food, and their soldiers regularly cross to steal food and money, and sometimes killing for it. One instance of this, North Korean army deserter had killed four Chinese villagers in the Jilin province. He broke into three homes before being shot in the stomach while fleeing to the upper reaches of Tumen. Beijing complains to Pyongyang and nothing comes of it. When time came for the WWII anniversary celebration in Russia and China. Kim Jong-un had received an invitation from the Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend Russia’s military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9th and accepted it. A last minute decision, he changed his mind and decided not to go. China’s turn to put on a show. For Beijing, just as for Russia three months earlier, national prestige was on the line, yet Kim Jong-un declined the invitation. Even though Kim had insulted China, they are still a big trading partner with North Korea. China sanctions and limits the exports from North