LeeGabrielleMidtermIRLS210
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Dec 6, 2023
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea pushed into South Korea on June 25, 1950,
causing the start of the Korean War. (1) Korea split into two separate states as a result of the Cold
War, ensuring a proxy war between the United States and the USSR. The North followed its
northern neighbor into Socialism and created a communist state. The South stayed true to its UN
allies and strove for democracy. When the North invaded, the UN authorized sending troops to
help fight. The bulk of the fighters came from the US with over 326,000 troops sent to South
Korea in 3 years (2).
The leaders at the time were Kim Il-Sung in North Korea, Mao Zedong in China, and
Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. All very influential and historically important figures in their
countries. South Korea led by Syngman Rhee, the United States by Harry S. Truman, and the
United Kingdom with Winston Churchill (1). All these leaders, on their respective sides, worked
closely together for support and strength.
The role of the United Nations in this war was to authorize the deployment of UN troops
to South Korea (3). This response created even more tension between the US and Soviet Union
as the Soviet Union also had a seat on the council that created the United Nations Security
Council Resolution 82. That resolution condemned the North Korean invasion of South Korea
(3). The following resolution (Resolution 83) recommends that UN Member States provide
military assistance. This was the catalyst for another round of Soviet aggression to the United
States. The same day, the resolution was published President Truman authorized the deployment
of US troops to South Korea. The Soviet Union accused the US of starting the war with North
Korea for its own terms (4).
Realism best applies to the Korean War owing to the states involved acted in self-interest
and self-preservation and showed that cooperation on a global scale is generally short lived. The
state is the most important entity in the world system and as such will do whatever it can to get
and maintain as much power as possible to maintain its sovereignty. The origins may not have
been to start a proxy war with the U.S. and North Korea may have invaded the South without
provocation eventually, but the Soviets used the situation to their advantage to continue
hostilities against the United States. The United States took the bait and out of self-interest in
protection of the democratic way will always rise to continue to fight and stop Socialism.
(1)WEATHERSBY, KATHRYN. 1993. "The Wilson Center". Wilsoncenter.Org.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ACFB76.pdf
.
(2)Kane, Tim. 2019. "Global U.S. Troop Deployment, 1950-2003". The Heritage Foundation.
Accessed April 26.
https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/global-us-troop-deployment-1950-
2003
.
(3)"Resolution 82". 1950.
Unscr.Com
.
http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/82
.
(4)Gromyko, Andrei. 1998. "Internet History Sourcebooks".
Sourcebooks.Fordham.Edu
.
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1950-gromyko-korea.asp
.
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