Korean War; Now Soldiers Do Not Carry Weapons

The effects and consequences of the Cold War can still be clearly observed in the political and military conflicts between North Korea and South Korea. The danger of war still exists in the South China Sea, and it is unclear whether China wants and can exert the necessary pressures on North Korea to neutralize the threat of nuclear war. In mid-October 2018, during the autumn, media reported that soldiers stationed in the demilitarized zone at the border between North and South Korea no longer carry their weapons. This symbolic de-escalation occurred as a result of mediation by the United Nations, and both sides dismantled deadly mines that had been installed in the border area. However, according to official agreements between North Korea and South Korea, war is still ongoing. Additionally, negotiations for establishing peace occur from time to time in the demilitarized zone, allowing families separated since the war to meet for a few hours. Nevertheless, these peaceful hopes have yet to yield positive results, and the reason, as this article will demonstrate, is North Korea's military policies, particularly its missile policies. From the Cold War to Military Conflict: Japan annexed Korea in 1910. Japan occupied Korea and considered it a colony until the end of World War II in 1945, when the Soviet Union and the United States occupied Korea. Kim Il-sung, the first leader of North Korea, was established in the 38th parallel, dividing Korea between the Soviet Union and the United States, creating two occupied regions that mirrored the main political poles of the Cold War. North and South Korea could not reach an agreement in the late 1940s and blamed each other for the impossibility of Korean unity. The United States and the Soviet Union fully controlled political events in their spheres of influence. Stalin invested in training political cadres to consolidate his power in North Korea, particularly supporting Kim Il-sung, a partisan fighter, to the extent that he became the head of the Korean Communist Party. On the other hand, the United States supported Syngman Rhee from the right-wing national front of Korea. The Korean War began in 1950 and lasted until 1953, resulting in several million deaths. There are no accurate figures for the number of casualties from this war, and to this day, the two countries have not signed a peace treaty. Additionally, at that time, American officers were training South Korean soldiers. The Exit and Return of American Soldiers: Until 1948, when U.S. military forces were stationed in South Korea, military control of the country was in the hands of American officers. After 1948, only American military advisors remained in South Korea, and the military forces left the country. Syngman Rhee, alongside General MacArthur, was supposed to conduct free elections in South Korea with the help of the United Nations in early 1948. However, leftist groups influenced by Stalin's policies opposed free elections and protested against them. At the same time, North Korea, under Stalin's orders, supported guerrilla fighters who also opposed free elections, leading to military tensions and conflicts along the border between North and South Korea. Eventually, elections were held in South Korea. Syngman Rhee, the president of that country, declared that his political goal was the unification of Korea, even if military actions were necessary. A few weeks after these elections, the 'People's Republic of Korea' was officially established under Kim Il-sung's leadership. At that time, North Korean political leaders were influenced not only by the Soviet Union but also welcomed Mao Zedong in China. On June 25, 1950, North Korean military forces, supported by the Soviet army, crossed the geographical border and entered the military jurisdiction of South Korea. At that time, the North Korean military was stronger than the South Korean army. Voting on Resolution 83 in the UN Security Council in the Absence of the Soviet Union: The United States requested intervention from the UN Security Council and demanded condemnation of North Korea's military aggression. At this time, the Soviet Union was boycotting the UN Security Council, and thus Resolution 83 was passed without objection, preventing the Soviet Union from using its veto against this resolution. A few days later, the Security Council approved military intervention to defend South Korea, and UN forces led by the United States re-entered South Korea and engaged in war. North American soldiers and officers constituted 90 percent of UN forces, while the remaining soldiers and officers were sent from the UK, France, Belgium, Cuba, South Africa, Ethiopia, Bolivia, Turkey, and Canada. The UN and South Korean military forces forced the North Korean army to retreat by the end of September, and in October of that year, South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel and entered North Korean territory. The goal of South Korea was the complete occupation of North Korea. Unexpected Intervention from China: The American military commander named MacArthur could not imagine that China would one day enter the war against UN and South Korean forces in defense of the Soviet Union, but that is what happened. At that time, North Korean military forces had retreated to the Chinese border. Mao Zedong, the communist leader of China, who ruled a harsh totalitarian country, sent 400,000 so-called volunteer soldiers to fight against South Korea. Simultaneously, Russian military pilots entered the war disguised as Korean and Chinese soldiers and attacked South Korean and UN forces. One of the most disgraceful aspects of the war was the destruction of hospitals and the massacre of doctors and nurses: both sides committed such atrocities in this deadly war. North Korea killed about 900 doctors and nurses in a military operation in Seoul, and according to historical reports, the South Korean army bombed hundreds of hospitals in North Korea. It should be added that the United States dropped about 635,000 tons of bombs and over 32,000 tons of napalm, one of the most horrific bombs in human history. Harry Truman alongside General MacArthur: The cost of the war had reached an unbearable level for the world's largest economy, and in December 1950, U.S. President Harry Truman announced for the first time in U.S. history that the country was in a state of emergency. Nevertheless, the fight against communism and totalitarian dictatorships took absolute priority, and the United States increased its war budget and recruited new soldiers into the army. In the same month, UN and South Korean forces had to retreat, as this time the military alliance of the Soviet Union and China had become decisive in defending North Korea. Subsequently, the Chinese and North Korean armies crossed the 38th parallel and occupied Seoul, which is now the capital of South Korea. General MacArthur called for the use of atomic bombs in the fight against China, but President Truman rejected this request. A nuclear war could lead to a larger conflict with the Soviet Union and China. Peace Negotiations and Continuation of War: The war between UN forces led by the United States and North Korean and Chinese military forces continued until July 1951, when peace negotiations began alongside military operations. The United Nations opposed the return of prisoners of war to their countries, as the soldiers themselves opposed returning to their homeland. For example, some Chinese or North Korean soldiers did not want to be oppressed by the dictatorships of Mao, the Soviet Union, or North Korea. As a result, peace negotiations failed in the early stages. All major cities and a large portion of villages in North Korea had been bombed. To this day, there are no accurate figures for the dead, and it is estimated that about 3.5 to 4.5 million people lost their lives in this war, including nearly one million military and civilian casualties from South Korea and 2.5 million military and civilian casualties from North Korea, along with about one million Chinese and approximately 40,500 UN soldiers killed. Both sides committed massacres, and thousands of civilians were killed. Many were killed simply for having been members of a leftist or communist organization or party in the past. Ceasefire and Division of Korea: At the initiative of American and Russian officials, a temporary ceasefire was signed on July 27, 1953, leading to the division of Korea. This agreement provided for a demilitarized zone 250 kilometers long that separated the Korean people and divided the country's territory to this day. North Korean soldiers are stationed near the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. Negotiations regarding North Korea's nuclear program with South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, and the United States were regularly held until 2009, when North Korea officially withdrew from these negotiations. At the end of November 2017, following several missile and nuclear tests that led to heavy sanctions on Pyongyang, North Korea announced the testing of intercontinental missiles. At that time, Western media and experts questioned the validity of these missiles. Nevertheless, these missile tests destroyed any optimism regarding diplomatic efforts to establish peaceful relations between North Korea and the United States, and indeed the Western world. Western security centers could not and cannot tolerate North Korea's missile capabilities without a response, and Pyongyang's missile tests, which enabled a direct attack on the United States, dashed any hopes for peaceful diplomatic resolution. At that time, in November 2017, South Korea conducted a missile test just six minutes after North Korea's missile test, as a deterrent to prevent North Korean military officials from continuing missile tests. The meeting of the leaders of the two Koreas in May of that year: In 2017, even when the Japanese Prime Minister spoke on the phone with Donald Trump, the military option was still on the table. However, in 2018, efforts to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula were underway, and after the leaders of the two Koreas met in mid-spring of that year and committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, U.S. President Donald Trump also met and discussed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late spring. However, in early autumn, North Korea criticized the continuation of sanctions against itself and stated that it would not engage in unilateral disarmament without confidence-building measures, opposing the U.S. insistence that sanctions would continue until North Korea was denuclearized. Donald Trump's meeting with the North Korean leader: Later, on November 12, 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington announced that 13 secret operational sites for ballistic missiles had been located in North Korea. These findings posed a new challenge to Donald Trump's recent policies towards Pyongyang. A few days later, news sources reported, citing North Korean state media, that the country had tested new weapons with advanced and complex technology. Time will tell whether President Trump’s chosen policies towards North Korea will contain the threat of the nuclear bomb from the totalitarian dictatorship of North Korea.