Today, on the Korean Peninsula, located in East Asia, there are two countries - the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea. How and why were these two states formed? Moreover, why are these two countries so radically different from each other and what is the reason for their enmity? About how everything happened from the very beginning, what conflict between North and South Korea does not allow these countries to reunite, read our material.
The beginning of the 20th century. Capture of Korea by Japan
What is and where does the conflict between North and South Korea take its roots? It is not easy to answer these questions briefly, because the preconditions that led to the emergence of these two states, which were aggressive towards each other, were laid more than a hundred years ago.,
Back in the 19th century, Korea was an independent state, but it fell into the sphere of interests of various countries, in particular, Russia, China and Japan. They opposed each other in the struggle for the right to rule over Korea. The final role in this confrontation was played by the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. As a result, Japan finally established its primacy on the peninsula. Having initially established a protectorate over Korea, by 1910, Japan had fully included it in the borders of its state. Thus, conditions were created that in the future resulted in the conflict between South and North Korea known to us, the chronology of which dates back to the middle of the 20th century.
Thus, for 35 years, until the defeat of Japan in World War II, Korea remained its colony. Of course, during this period, the Koreans tried to regain independence, but militaristic Japan stopped all such attempts at the root.
During a conference held in Cairo in 1943, issues were discussed regarding the prospects of military operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding the territories occupied by Japan, it was decided to further provide independence to Korea.
The liberation of Korea and its division into time zones
In 1945, the Allied armies landed on the Korean Peninsula, respectively, Soviet troops came from the north, and American troops from the south. Subsequently, as a result of this, South and North Korea were formed. The history of the conflict originates from an agreement between the USA and the USSR to divide the country into two zones for more efficient adoption of Japan's surrender. Separation was carried out along the 38th parallel, and after the final liberation of the Korean Peninsula from the Japanese invaders, the Allies proceeded to form transitional governments with the aim of further uniting the northern and southern zones into a single state under a single leadership.
It is noteworthy that in the southern zone, supervised by the Americans, there was also the capital of the former Korean state - the city of Seoul. In addition, in the southern part of the peninsula the population density was almost two times higher than in the north of the country, the same was true for agricultural and industrial resources.
USSR and USA cannot or do not want to agree
Following this, a new problem emerged - the United States and the Soviet Union could not agree on how to unite the country. They disagreed on many issues regarding the procedure for the withdrawal of Allied forces from Korea, the holding of elections, the formation of a single government, etc. Attempts to reach an agreement did not lead to anything for almost two years. In particular, the USSR initially insisted on the withdrawal of the entire contingent of foreign troops from the territory of Korea, after which it would be possible to proceed with the implementation of the remaining points of the plan. America did not agree with this proposal and in the summer of 1947 submitted the Korean question for consideration by the UN General Assembly. Perhaps the essence of the conflict between North and South Korea was originally laid in the confrontation between two superpowers - the United States and the USSR.
But since America enjoyed the support of most UN members, the Korean issue was considered and approved on the terms proposed by the United States. In turn, the USSR opposed, nevertheless, the UN has already decided to create a special commission whose task was to organize and conduct elections in Korea. The USSR and the North Korean authorities controlled by it refused to admit a UN commission to the northern part of the peninsula.
The creation of two independent and independent republics
Despite the disagreements, elections were held in May 1948 in the territory supervised by the United States, as a result of which an independent Republic of Korea was formed, otherwise, South Korea. The formed government, headed by President Lee Seung Man, is oriented towards the Western world and works closely with the United States.
Following this, elections are also held in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in August of the same year, and the creation of the DPRK is announced in September, otherwise North Korea. In this case, a pro-communist government was formed, headed by Kim Il Sung. So two independent states were created - South and North Korea. The history of the conflict begins with the war that followed two years later.
After the creation of these two states, the USA and the USSR began to withdraw their troops from their territory. It is worth noting that each of the newly formed governments initially made claims on the entire territory of the Korean Peninsula and declared itself as the only legitimate authority in Korea. Relations grew tense, countries built up their military potential, the conflict between North and South Korea escalated and gradually turned into a force plane. In the years 1949-1950. small clashes began to take place along the 38th parallel, which is the border between the formed republics, which later turned into a full-scale war.
The outbreak of the Korean War
By June 25, 1950, the sluggish conflict of North and South Korea gradually developed into heavy fighting. The parties mutually accused each other of the attack, but today it is generally accepted that the DPRK was the aggressor. Only a few days later, it became apparent that the North Korean army was significantly superior to its opponent, because already on the fifth day of the war it managed to occupy Seoul. The United States immediately came to the aid of the South, and also launched a campaign at the UN, in which they accused North Korea of aggression, calling on the international community to provide military support to South Korea in order to restore security in the region.
As a result of the inclusion of American units, and after them the troops, united under the auspices of the UN, in the conflict of North and South Korea, the army of the South managed to restrain the attack of the enemy. This was followed by a counterattack on the territory of North Korea, which led to the inclusion of Chinese volunteer units in the war. The USSR also provided military support to North Korea, so soon the war zone again moved to the southern part of the peninsula.
The outcome of the Korean War
After another counterattack by the South Korean army and the UN multinational forces allied to it, by July 1951 the combat zone had finally moved to the 38th parallel, along which all subsequent clashes continued for two years. It soon became clear that the price of victory for any of the warring parties could be too high, so a truce was concluded on July 27. It is noteworthy that the ceasefire agreement was signed on the one hand by the commanders of the DPRK and China, and on the other, by the United States under the UN flag. At the same time, the United States to this day retains a military presence in South Korea.
Different sources report unequal figures regarding the losses of the parties that the conflict between North and South Korea entailed, but it can be said with confidence that these losses were significant. There was also great damage to both states, since hostilities were carried out almost throughout the peninsula. The Korean War was essentially an integral part of the Cold War that began in the mid-20th century.
Relations between countries in the second half of the XX century
At the end of the war on the peninsula, the conflict between North and South Korea was transferred to a frozen state. The fraternal countries continued to be cautious and suspicious of each other, and only against the backdrop of establishing contacts between America and China did the relations between the North and the South improve somewhat.
In 1972, the countries signed a joint statement, according to which they headed for unity, based on the principles of peaceful dialogue, independence, not relying on external forces. However, few people believe in the possibility of a complete merger of states into a single whole, because the cause of the conflict between North and South Korea is partly due to the incompatibility of political regimes and principles of state governance. So, in the DPRK they proposed for consideration the option of creating a confederation according to the formula "one state, one people - two governments and two systems."
In the early 1990s, new rapprochement attempts were made. In this regard, a number of new agreements were adopted by the countries, including the Agreement on Reconciliation, Nonaggression and Mutual Cooperation, as well as the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, following the peaceful initiatives of the DPRK, it quite often revealed intentions to obtain nuclear weapons, which more than once caused deep concern on the part of the international community, in particular the United States.
Relations between countries in modern times
In June 2000, the first inter-Korean summit was held, at which the next steps were taken towards rapprochement. According to its results, on June 15, the heads of the republics signed the Joint Declaration of the North and the South, which in the long run became the most fundamental document regarding the unification issues that Korean society had been expecting for almost half a century. This declaration stated the intention of the parties to seek reunification "by the forces of the Korean nation itself."
In October 2007, a regular inter-Korean meeting was held, the result of which was the signing of new documents that continue and develop the principles laid down in the 2000 Joint Declaration. Nevertheless, the essence of the conflict between North and South Korea is such that over time, relations between countries remain unstable, and are also characterized by periods of ups and downs.
Periodic aggravation of relations
Examples of exacerbation of the situation on the peninsula are often associated with underground nuclear tests conducted in North Korea, as happened in 2006 and 2009. In both cases, such actions by the DPRK provoked protests not only from South Korea - the entire international community opposed activities in the nuclear field, and several resolutions were passed in the UN Security Council calling for the resumption of negotiations on the peninsula's denuclearization.
The conflict of North and South Korea has repeatedly resulted in armed clashes, which, of course, put on the brink of disruption the process of rapprochement of fraternal countries. So, on March 25, 2010, near the DPRK border in the Yellow Sea, a South Korean warship was blown up and sunk, which caused the death of 46 sailors. South Korea accused the DPRK of destroying the ship, but the North denied its guilt. In November of that year, a major armed incident occurred on the demarcation line, in which the parties exchanged mutual artillery shelling. Not without casualties, including those who died.
Among other things, North Korea reacts quite sharply to the American presence in the southern part of the peninsula. The USA and South Korea, which are long-standing allies, periodically conduct military exercises in response to which, the North has repeatedly made loud statements, threatening to use force and launch missiles at American military bases located in the south of the peninsula and in the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the continental USA.
Today's realities
In August 2015, the conflict between North and South Korea was once again aggravated. In short, an artillery shot was fired from North Korea. The purpose of this attack, according to reports from Pyongyang, was the loudspeakers through which the South conducted propaganda against the North. In turn, in Seoul, these actions were connected with the fact that two servicemen of the Republic of Korea shortly before that were blown up by a mine allegedly planted by North Korean saboteurs. After the parties exchanged mutual accusations, the DPRK government threatened military action if, within 48 hours, the South Korean authorities did not come to their senses and stop anti-North Korean propaganda.
There was a lot of noise in the media on this subject, analysts and political scientists made a lot of assumptions about the likelihood of a new inter-Korean confrontation, but in the end the parties managed to agree and resolve everything peacefully. The question arises: how long? And what will be the next reason for the conflict between North and South Korea, as well as what could lead to another escalation?
It is hardly possible today to predict how relations between North and South Korea will develop in the future. Will the people of these countries be able to resolve this, in a sense, internal conflict, not to mention the prospects of uniting the countries into a single state? More than half a century after the Korean War, the Korean people broke up into two separate nations, each of which is fully formed and now has its own character and mentality. Even if they can forgive each other all wrongs, it will still not be easy for them to find a common language. Nevertheless, I would like to wish them all the same - peace and mutual understanding.