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| Last Updated: May 17th, 2008 - 14:08:08
North Korea
By Cynthia Kirkeby
Apr 21, 2008, 18:56 PST
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North Korea has been in the news in past months. They announced the resumption of their nuclear weapons program in October 2002. Since then, the US and neighboring Republic of Korea have been meeting to discuss steps to protect against hostile action and disarm North Korea.
The most that many 40 year-old Americans know of Korea, may have come from watching the popular TV show MASH in their youth. Not a very solid source of information. So, who are the real people of Korea? Take a look at how Korea became two distinct countries.
Until Japan's defeat in the summer of 1945, Korea was under the colonial control of Japan for more than forty years. Once the Japanese surrendered, the superpowers, US, Britain, USSR, and China, decided that Korea would be incapable of establishing a stable government. They chose the demarcation of the 38th parallel to divide the country into manageable areas.
The US took over the management of South Korea, and the USSR handled Northern Korea. Although this was meant to be a stopgap measure, it soon became a permanent situation as relations between the US and the USSR became strained. The UN General Assembly recommended that elections be held in Korea to establish a unified national government, but it was not to be. In 1948, the USSR rapidly assisted Kim Il-Sung in establishing a communist regime in North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Dr. Syngman Rhee was later elected President of the Republic of Korea in the south.
In the 50 years since the establishment of the two Koreas, there have been violent conflicts between the two governments. The Korean War took place in 1950-1953, after North Korea invaded the south on June 25, 1950. It ended on July 27, 1953 after a stalemate was reached between North Korean and UN military forces. A demilitarized zone was established just above the 38th parallel stretching 2.5 miles wide and over 150 miles long.
Clashes have happened on a regular basis since then. US soldiers have been shot down and held captive for months after flying into the DMZ while on patrol. In 1976, two US officers were bludgeoned to death for trimming a tree in the DMZ. A total of four US servicemen and five South Koreans were killed. This incident almost sparked another war.
The other conflict in the zone has been related to tunnels. North Korea has been caught tunneling across the Zone into the South four separate times from 1978 to 1990. The tunnels may have been meant to extend a first-strike advantage in the event of an invasion into South Korea. The last tunnel, found in 1990, was large enough to drive a jeep through. The South Koreans blocked the tunnel with a huge steel door, and it is now a tourist attraction.
Kim Il-Suns reign lasted until his death in 1994. His son, Kim Jong-Il, has controlled the fate of North Korea since that time. The collapse of the USSR was a devastating blow to North Korea. They lost their major export partner, and since then the countrs economy has been in a severe decline. There are severe shortages of food and energy resources. This has resulted in an unstable political situation for Kim Jong-Il.
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Despite pressure from Japan and the US, and the best efforts of UN negotiators, no progress has been made towards disarmament. On June 15, 2003 the North Koreans said that they would increase theirnuclear deterrent force Japan threatened economic sanctions, and North Korea has responded with threats and hostility. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a statement that said in part:
"The DPRK (North Korea) has already clarified its stand that it would regard any economic sanctions as a declaration of war."
Are we headed for a new Korean War? Are the US and Japan creating a situation that is ripe for war, or are they just responding to a threat being posed by the North Korean government? There are many questions that will only be answered with time.
Explore the following Internet resources to learn more about the history of the two Korean governments, the people of this region, and current political events.
Korean War Commemoration
http://korea50.army.mil/history/chronology/timeline_1950.shtml
Source: US Secretary of Defense
Seoul Republic of Korea
http://usembassy.state.gov/seoul/
Source: US Embassy
North Korea
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/northkorea/index.html
Source: PBS Online NewsHour
US Policy Towards North Korea
http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/easec/nkoreapg.htm
Source: US Department of State
South Korea A Country Report
http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/krtoc.html
Source: Library of Congress
© Copyright 2008 by Classbrain.com
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