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 kind of conflict between North and South Korea does not allow these countries to reunite, read in our material.
The beginning of the 20th century. Seizure of Korea by Japan
What is the conflict between North and South Korea and where does it originate? Briefly answering these questions is not easy, because the prerequisites that led to the emergence of these two states, aggressive towards each other, were laid more than a hundred years ago., Back in XIXcentury, Korea was an independent state, but fell into the sphere of interests of different 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 completely included it in the borders of its state. Thus, conditions were created that in the future resulted in the well-known conflict between South and North Korea, the chronology of which is counted from 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 win their independence, but militaristic Japan stopped all such attempts in the bud.
During a conference held in Cairo in 1943, questions were discussed regarding the prospects for military operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding the territories captured by Japan, it was decided to further grant independence to Korea.
The liberation of Korea and its division into temporary zones
In 1945, the allied armies landed on the Korean peninsula, respectively, the Soviet troops entered from the north, and the American troops from the south. Subsequently, as a result of this, South and North Korea were formed. The history of the conflict dates back to an agreement between the United States and the USSR to divide the country into two zones for more effectiveacceptance of Japan's surrender. The division was carried out along the 38th parallel, and after the final liberation of the Korean Peninsula from the Japanese invaders, the allies began to form transitional governments in order to further unite the northern and southern zones into an integral 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 twice as high as in the north of the country, the same was true for agricultural and industrial resources.
USSR and US cannot or do not want to negotiate
Following this, a new problem emerged - the United States and the Soviet Union could not agree on how to unify the country. They disagreed on many issues regarding the procedure for the withdrawal of allied troops from Korea, holding elections, forming a unified 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, however, did not agree with this proposal and in the summer of 1947 submitted the Korean question for consideration in the UN General Assembly. Perhaps the essence of the conflict between North and South Korea was originally laid in the confrontation between the two superpowers - the USA and the USSR.
But soas America enjoyed the support of the majority of UN members, the Korean issue was considered and approved on the terms proposed by the United States. In turn, the USSR opposed it, however, the UN had already decided to create a special commission whose task was to organize and conduct elections in Korea. The USSR and the authorities of North Korea controlled by it refused to allow the UN commission to the northern part of the peninsula.
Creation of two separate and independent republics
Despite the differences, in May 1948, elections are held in the territory supervised by the United States, as a result of which the independent Republic of Korea, otherwise South Korea, is formed. The formed government, headed by President Syngman Rhee, 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 in September the creation of the DPRK, otherwise North Korea, is announced. In this case, a pro-communist government headed by Kim Il Sung was formed. Thus, 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 US 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 to the entire territory of the Korean Peninsula and declared itself as the only legitimate authority in Korea. Relations were tense, countries were building up their military potential, the conflict between North and South Korea was escalating and gradually turning into a power plane. In 1949–1950 small clashes began to occur along the 38th parallel, which is the border between the formed republics, which later turned into a full-scale war.
Beginning of the Korean War
By June 25, 1950, the sluggish conflict between North and South Korea gradually escalated into heavy fighting. The parties mutually accused each other of the attack, but today it is generally accepted that the aggressor was the DPRK. In just a few days, it became obvious that the North Korean army was vastly superior to its enemy, because already on the fifth day of the war, it managed to take 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 South Korea with military support 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 between North and South Korea, the army of the South managed to hold back the enemy's offensive. This was followed by a counter-offensive on the territory of North Korea, which caused 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.
ExodusKorean War
After another counter-offensive by the South Korean army and its allied UN multinational forces, by July 1951 the combat zone 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 opposing sides could be too high, so on July 27 a truce was concluded. It is noteworthy that the ceasefire agreement, on the one hand, was signed by the commanders of the DPRK and China, on the other hand, by the United States under the UN flag. At the same time, the United States maintains a military presence in South Korea to this day.
Different sources report different figures regarding the losses of the parties that the conflict between North and South Korea entailed, but it is safe to say that these losses were significant. There was also great damage to both states, as the fighting was carried out almost throughout the entire territory of the peninsula. The Korean War was essentially an integral part of the Cold War that began in the middle of the 20th century.
Relations between countries in the second half of the 20th century
At the end of the Peninsular War, the conflict between North and South Korea was placed on ice. The fraternal countries continued to treat each other with caution and suspicion, and only against the backdrop of establishing contacts between America and China did North-South relations improve somewhat.
In 1972, countries signedjoint statement, according to which they set a course for unity, based on the principles of peaceful dialogue, independence, without relying on external forces. However, few people believe in the possibility of a complete merger of states into one whole, because the reason for the conflict between North and South Korea partly lies precisely in the incompatibility of political regimes and principles of government. 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 attempts at rapprochement were made. In this regard, the countries adopted a number of new agreements, including the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression and Mutual Cooperation, as well as the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, following the peace initiatives, the DPRK 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 took place, at which further steps were taken towards rapprochement. As a result, on June 15, the heads of the republics signed the Joint Declaration of the North and the South, which in the long term became the fundamental document on unification issues that Korean society has been waiting for 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, another inter-Korean meeting was held, which resulted in 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 the countries remain unstable, and are also characterized by periods of ups and downs.
Periodic aggravation of relations
Examples of the aggravation 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 protest not only from South Korea - the entire international community opposed nuclear activities, and several resolutions were adopted in the UN Security Council calling for the resumption of negotiations on the denuclearization of the peninsula.
The conflict between North and South Korea has more than once resulted in armed clashes, which, of course, put the process of rapprochement between the fraternal countries on the brink of failure. So, on March 25, 2010, a South Korean warship was blown up and sunk near the border of the DPRK in the Yellow Sea, 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 the same year, there was a major armed incident on the demarcation line, in which the parties exchanged mutual artillery shelling. There were no casu alties, includingthere were also dead.
Among other things, North Korea is quite sensitive to the American presence in the southern part of the peninsula. The United States and South Korea, longtime allies, periodically conduct military exercises in response to which the North has repeatedly made loud statements threatening to use force and launch missile attacks on American military bases located in the south of the peninsula and in the Pacific Ocean, as well as on the continental part USA.
Today's realities
In August 2015, the conflict between North and South Korea escalated once again. In short, an artillery shot was fired from the territory of North Korea. The target of this attack, according to reports from Pyongyang, was the loudspeakers through which the South carried out propaganda against the North. In turn, Seoul attributed these actions to the fact that two servicemen of the Republic of Korea had blown up on a mine, allegedly planted by North Korean saboteurs, shortly before. After the parties exchanged mutual accusations, the DPRK government threatened to fight if the South Korean authorities did not come to their senses and stop anti-North Korean propaganda within 48 hours.
There was a lot of noise on this topic in the media, analysts and political scientists expressed 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: for how long? And what will be the next cause of the conflict between the Northand South Korea, and what could another escalation lead to?
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 some sense, internal conflict, not to mention the prospects for the unification of countries into a single state? In more than half a century since the Korean War, the Korean people have split 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 for all grievances, it will still not be easy for them to find a common language. Nevertheless, I would like to wish them all one thing - peace and understanding.
