THE NORTH INVADES
With the establishment of the two opposing governments, who both believed that they were the rightful rulers of the entire Korean peninsula, it was only a matter of time before one of the sides took action to take full control. Kim Il Sung of North Korea was the leader who first made a move. With Stalin’s foreknowledge and consent, the North invaded the south on June 25, 1950. 75,000 North Korean soldiers flooded across the 38th parallel catching the South Korean forces totally off guard. The few American soldiers remaining were not prepared to defend themselves, nor South from the bombardment from the North.
As the North Korean army forcefully advanced south, the United States quickly responded to the South Korean requests for support. Within two days of the invasion, because of the United States’ encouragement, the United Nations Security Council deployed American lead armies to support the South and defend against the invaders. This attentive action can be attributed to President Truman’s policy of containment, his will to stop the advance of the communism beyond its own borders. Because of the readiness of the Northern Armies, and the unpreparedness of the southern armies, the South was nearly pushed off of the peninsula completely. By mid August, not even a moth after the initial invasion, the advances of the North were so exhaustive that the Southern armies were in control of only a small 140 mile portion of the southeastern peninsula known as the Pusan perimeter. This would be the farthest the Northern Armies would advance, nearly taking full control of all of Korea. Thankfully, however, Pusan is a port facing Japan. Because the United States still had soldiers stationed in Japan, soldiers were promptly sent from Japan to Korea along with supplies and other necessities needed for the war. |
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