# data[].attributes.body
INVASION
- On 25th June 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea to try to re-unite the country.
- Historians disagree abut whether the USSR told them to invade.
- Truman believed the USSR was responsible & saw this as a test of the US policy of containment.
- By September 1950, it was about to defeat the South.

US RESPONSE
- The invasion came at a time when many Americans were extremely worried about the challenge of Communism
- There are several reasons for the US response:

Fear of the "domino effect"

The fall of China to communism

The USSR developing nuclear weapons in 1949

Reports of Cominform helping Communists win power in Malaya, Indonesia, Burma and the Philippines.

- Truman ordered US forces in Japan, led by General Mac Arthur, to help South Korea.
- He also asked the UN Security Council to back the use of American troops in Korea.

UN RESPONSE
- In 1945 the UN Charter set up a Military Staff Committee representing each of the "Big Five" on the Security Council
(China, France, USSR, UK & USA).
This gave them joint control of any force.
- Cold War tensions meant this committee often failed to agree on how to set up a UN force.
- The USA and USSR often used their Security Council veto to block any peace-keeping decisions they did not like.

- The Security Council decided that the North Koreans ha breached world peace and called on them to withdraw

- When the North Koreans had refused. they called on UN members to help South Korea repel the North Korean attack. Soldiers from Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand were sent.
- the USA were asked to take command of the UN operation, as the majority of the forces were American.

- The Secretary General, Trygve Lie, believed that North Korea could be guilty of calculated.
- He advised the Security Council to take a strong standing position.

# data[].attributes.body
Results : KOREA

- The war killed 1.5 million south Koreans, 3.5 million north Koreans.
- The Koreans were left homeless starving.
The UN's policy was that Korea should become one country with free elections supervised by the UN. This did no happen, North Korean aggression was stopped but the situation in Korea remained the same as before the attack.

Results : UN

Reputation- the UN gained respect because, unlike the League of Nations, it had taken firm action in the face of aggression.

Forces- Many members felt that the USA had used the UN in it's battle against Communism and that the forces of the major powers should not be directly involved in future operations.
Reputation-

"Uniting for Peace" - This gave power to the Assemble to take over peace-keeping responsibilities if a veto blocked Council action. The USSR refused to accept decisions made this way.

The Secretary-General - in 1953 Trygve Lie resigned because the USSR accused him of supporting the USA during th crisis and of acting beyond the limits of his office.

# data[].attributes.body
BACKGROUND AFTER WWII
- between 1904 - 1945, Korea was controlled by the Japanese.
- In 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies. Soviet troops occupied the north and American troops the south.
- The 38th Parallel divided the two areas.

BACKGROUND AFTER ELECTIONS
- In 1947, the UN general Assembly decided on elections through Korea to choose a national government.
- The USSR refused to co-operate.

BACKGROUND,  SYNGMAN RHEE
- In 1948 the people in the south elected a parliament which set up the government of the Republic of Korea. The president was Syngman Rhee, a corrupt & unpopular leader.
- In the north, the USSR set up the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. Their leader was communist Kim II Sung.
- Each government claimed to rule the whole of Korea.
- The USA & USSR withdrew troops but continued to support the two sides with money and weapons.
- In April 1950, Rhee did badly in elections. Many people in the south voted to unify the north.

BACKGROUND, CHINA
- In October 1949 the civil war in China ends with Communist victory.
- The Communists set up the people's Republic of China.
- The Nationalists fled to Taiwan and set up the Republic of China.
- The USA now faced another huge Communist power. They saw this as evidence of the spread of Communism.
- In 1950 China & the USSR signed a treaty of friendship.

- Mao Tse Tung wanted a seat on the UN Security Council, which was the part of the UN that made the most decisions. This was dominated by capitalist countries.
- The USA refused to allow the communists to take their seat at the UN Security Council & continued to support the Nationalists in Taiwan.
- Stalin also wanted China to be on the Security Council, but he was outvoted and pulled out of the UN in protest.
- As a result, he was unable to influence UN action during the Korean War.

# data[].attributes.body
US INVOLVEMENt

President Truman, then appointed General MacArthur as commander-in-Chief, of UN forces. MacArthur reported to Truman and took any orders requested by him.
- Out of the 16 countries sending forces, the USA provided the most:
93% Air forces
1/2 of the land forces
86% of naval forces.

- The UN gave the USA unlimited authority to direct any sort of military related operations.
- the war threatened to become one between the USA and China. The USA even considered using nuclear weapons against China.

USSR INVOLVEMENT

Although they may not have officially been involved, behind the scenes;
- The USSR provided pilots and planes for the Chinese air force.
- The USA knew about this but kept it a secret to avoid direct conflict with the USSR.

# data[].attributes.headline
Classification Table on things to be discussed:

# data[].attributes.subject
Classification Table on things to be discussed:

# data[].attributes.body
- What Happened to Korea after WW2
- Reasons why the USA got involved in Korea.
- The main events in the war.
- The role of the UN
- The involvement of the Chinese and USSR
- The removal of MacArthur
- The Outcome & Results

# data[].attributes.body
Key words:
- Domino theory
a theory that if one nation comes under communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.
- Rollback
an American foreign policy doctrine during the cold war, which advocated the use of U.S military power to drive back the Soviet Union's influence wherever it appeared.