By 1950, two rival nations and governments existed on the Korean peninsula. One was the DPRK, north of the 38th parallel and ruled by a nationalist-Communist puppet put into place by the USSR; the other was the ROK, south of the 38th parallel and ruled by an anti-Communist authoritarian with US backing. Both administrations were adamant on unifying Korea under their own rule; this was clearly embodied within their Constitutions.
The US, fearing that supplying a warlike Syngman Rhee with aid and weapons could encourage him to invade North Korea, deprived him of military aid, which left the ROK poorly armed against the better-equipped North Korean Army.
On 25th June 1950, with the prior knowledge of the USSR and China, Kim Il-Sung launched his planned invasion of the ROK at daybreak. It was not the first cross-border attack, but it was the largest and most devastating yet.
The strength of the KPA was approximately 230,000. He had several hundred Soviet T-34 tanks and Yakovlev fighter planes, as well as artillery pieces. Conversely, the ROK Army was much ill prepared – the majority of its strength, up to two-thirds, was not mobilised. It had less than 100,000 men ready, no tanks, and no foreign troops ready to help them in Korea.
Within three days of the land-and-air invasion, Hanseong (Seoul), the ROK’s capital, had fallen to the KPA. As the ROK government hastily retreated across the Han River (on which Hanseong was built), bridges were demolished. Many civilians and troops who had not yet crossed the Han were trapped north of the Han. ROK troops of questionable loyalty to Syngman Rhee’s administration also began retreating further south; many defected in whole masses to the North.
As major ROK cities fell to the KPA, the UN Security Council condemned the invasion. Various UN nations, including Turkey, and the UK and its overseas Dominions, contributed men and arms to the UN Command, a fighting force dedicated to the Korean War. The US Army would lead the UN Command, and Douglas MacArthur was placed at the helm. They would assist the ROK army in fighting the KPA invaders. The US President, Harry Truman, allowed US assistance to the ROK. President Truman would not tolerate Communist actions in Korea, but nonetheless was careful not to give the USSR or the PRC a cause to get directly involved in Korea; he termed US involvement a “police action”. He also did not want to escalate the war.
On 5th July 1950, the US first clashed with the KPA at the Battle of Osan, where they experienced a defeat. At the height of the KPA invasion, the KPA had seized 90% of ROK land and 92% of the ROK population. Following a successful month-long holdout in Pusan against KPA attacks, and the Incheon landing, the UN Command, the US Army and the ROK were able to drive the KPA north of the 38th Parallel. Their numbers and arms had been greatly augmented with supplies to Pusan. The US had initial reservations about advancing north of the 38th parallel; Truman permitted MacArthur to cross the 38th parallel only in the absence of USSR or PRC troops. With the tide of war turning in the US’ favour, MacArthur was permitted to bring his troops across. Weak KPA resistance meant that the UN Command and the US Army were drawn northwards, to the Yalu River, where the PRC had several divisions of troops and arms prepared.
(Chinese voluntary army crossing the Yalu River)
Some American politicians were calling for attacks on the Chinese to prevent them from making war in Korea; the PRC’s Premier Zhou Enlai warned the US that the Chinese might resort to armed conflict to protect their interests if the war against North Korea continued. President Truman ignored China’s warnings. Kim Il-sung had also telegrammed for Chinese troops to aid him early in October 1950. However, China’s troops were not going to be prepared soon, so China delayed the sending of troops until late in October 1950. After some minor confrontations with the enemy, Chinese forces, named the People’s Volunteer Army, launched a major offensive exploiting its skill in night-time warfare and advantage of having a large numerical superiority, pushing ROK and US troops out of North Korea and inflicting heavy casualties on the UN troops.
During the war, the Chinese initially were able to push south of the 38th parallel, even to Hanseong, but later, they were halted by aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire from enemy troops. General MacArthur even advocated for the atomic bomb to be used on China, as he felt that China could be stopped in no other way; President Truman used similar threats against China, but he later fired MacArthur for “insubordination”, as he felt that MacArthur was becoming a threat to him by refusing to cooperate and to obey his commands. The war became a stalemate due to trench warfare, as each side dug trenches to prevent any further losses to their territory. As a result, there were limited territorial changes in the late part of the war, from July 1951 to July 1953. Lengthy negotiation processes were held during the war, while each side attempted to achieve victories on the battlefield which would give them more advantages in the negotiations. Hostilities were ended and an armistice was signed in late July 1953. Syngman Rhee of the ROK refused to add his signature to the armistice – therefore, even now, the DPRK and the ROK are still technically at war.
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