During Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, America and a unified Korea operated under the 1882 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation. Shortly after this period and leading up to World War II, the Korean Peninsula had been an annexed country of the Empire of Japan. After the war, Korea was split along its 38th parallel. (U.S. Department of State, 2015) The Northern part of the country was controlled by the former Soviet Union and America in the South. Attempts to reunify the country failed and in 1948 the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) were formed in the South and in the North respectively. After the Korean War, which lasted from 1950-53, the DPRK under the rule of President Kim Il Sung, “adopted
…show more content…
He first became the newly formed DPRK’s prime minister and over the next year moved himself through the ranks and continued to push the nation into a full-fledged Communist dictatorship. By the end of 1949 he had begun building monuments to himself and this is when he was labeled the “Great Leader.” Under the lead of Kim Il Sung, North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950. However, due to the fact that the UN and American forces intervened on behalf of the South, North Korean forces were pushed back and the war was ended under an armistice in July 1953. This is one fact that many fail to remember. The Korean Peninsula is not a peace, they are under an armistice agreement. Those are two very different things. (Asianinfo.com, …show more content…
Other names that he went by where the “Dear Leader” and “The General.” (Asianinfo.com, 2010) However, the title of president was never given to Kim Jong Il due to the fact that the Supreme People’s Assembly wrote the position out of the DPRK’s constitution in the memory of the late Kim Il Sung. They believe him to be the “Eternal President” so even through Kim Jong Il had become the country’s leader, he would never be their president. Kim Jong Il became the commander of the armed forces and even though he did not hold office over the head of government and foreign relations, he still exercised complete control over the country. (Library of Congress,
He first became the newly formed DPRK’s prime minister and over the next year moved himself through the ranks and continued to push the nation into a full-fledged Communist dictatorship. By the end of 1949 he had begun building monuments to himself and this is when he was labeled the “Great Leader.” Under the lead of Kim Il Sung, North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950. However, due to the fact that the UN and American forces intervened on behalf of the South, North Korean forces were pushed back and the war was ended under an armistice in July 1953. This is one fact that many fail to remember. The Korean Peninsula is not a peace, they are under an armistice agreement. Those are two very different things. (Asianinfo.com, …show more content…
Other names that he went by where the “Dear Leader” and “The General.” (Asianinfo.com, 2010) However, the title of president was never given to Kim Jong Il due to the fact that the Supreme People’s Assembly wrote the position out of the DPRK’s constitution in the memory of the late Kim Il Sung. They believe him to be the “Eternal President” so even through Kim Jong Il had become the country’s leader, he would never be their president. Kim Jong Il became the commander of the armed forces and even though he did not hold office over the head of government and foreign relations, he still exercised complete control over the country. (Library of Congress,