History of the Koreas
North Korea announced Tuesday it planned to restart a nuclear reactor it shut down five years ago, the latest announcement in weeks of ramped-up rhetoric that has South Korea and its allies watching the country closely. Take a look at the history of the two Koreas.
North Korea announced Tuesday it planned to restart a nuclear reactor it shut down five years ago, the latest announcement in weeks of ramped-up rhetoric that has South Korea and its allies watching the country closely. Take a look at the history of the two Koreas, according to CNN, the Guardian, the Korea Tourism Organization and History.com.
North Korea announced Tuesday it planned to restart a nuclear reactor it shut down five years ago, the latest announcement in weeks of ramped-up rhetoric that has South Korea and its allies watching the country closely. Take a look at the history of the two Koreas, according to CNN, the Guardian, the Korea Tourism Organization and History.com.
Various dynasties ruled Korea for thousands of years until 1910, when Japan forced Korea to become its colony. Korea was ruled by Japan until 1945, when Japan surrendered to the allies at the end of World War II.
At that point, the United States and Russia split Korea at the 38th parallel, with the Russia military occupying the north and the U.S. occupying the south. The south elected Syngman Rhee, who was against communism, as its president. The north was ruled by communist dictator Kim Il-Sung beginning in 1946, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was founded in 1948.
After several cross-border skirmishes, the North Korean military invaded South Korea in 1950, the first military action of the cold war. Fearing the spread of communism and the possibility of World War III, the U.S. came to South Korea’s defense. As South Korea and the U.S. eventually pushed into North Korea and neared the border with China, the Chinese government, fearing a military campaign in its territory, sent troops to help the North Koreans.
Military action stopped with a 1953 armistice agreement, which established today’s border between North and South Korea just above the 38th parallel and established the 2-mile-wide demilitarized zone. Since this was an armistice instead of a peace agreement, the war never actually ended, but it has been paused for 60 years at this point. More than 2 million people died during the three years of fighting.
Initially, North Korea was prosperous thanks to backing from the Soviet Union, but that financial help ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, which helped plunge the nation into poverty.
South Korea was initially poor and struggling, but it built up its economy in the late 1960s. Today, it has the fourth largest economy in Asia.
Since the armistice, the North Korean government has remained under the power of the Kim family. Founder Kim Il-Sung ruled until his death in 1994, at which point his son, Kim Jong Il, took over.
The South Korean government under Rhee collapsed as a result of an anti-government movement in 1960. Park Chung-Hee was elected president in 1963 and ruled until his assassination in 1979. Chun Doo-hwan was elected president in 1980, but was ultimately ousted in 1987 during protests for democratic reforms in the country. Roh Tae-woo was democratically elected in 1988, the same year South Korea hosted the Seoul Olympics, and a string of democratically elected leaders followed.
While officially under a cease-fire, relations have remained tense between the two Koreas and violence has occasionally flared up. In 1983, four South Korean cabinet members were killed in a bombing while they visited Myanmar. In 1987, 155 people died when Korean Air Flight 858 was bombed. Investigations found North Korea was behind both bombings, though the North Korean government denies this.
Both North and South Korea joined the United Nations in 1991.
Kim Dae-Jung was elected president of South Korea in 1998. He made a concerted effort to improve relations between the two Koreas, helping arrange reunions for families separated by the Korean War in 2000 and meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in 2007. Kim Dae-Jung won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 2000.
But even as Kim Dae-Jung was trying to make peace with North Korea, other events were going on both on the peninsula and in the greater world. United States President George W. Bush declared North Korea, Iraq and Iran as part of an "axis of evil" in January 2002, a few months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. North Korea threatened to withdraw from the armistice in 2003 due to the U.S.'s "persistent war moves."
North Korea declared in built nuclear weapons in early 2005, and it tested medium- and long-range missiles in July 2006. The U.N. implemented its first sanctions against North Korea as a result, but the country again tested missiles in 2008 and 2009. It also declared it was withdrawing from the armistice in 2009 because North Korea was joining the U.S.-led anti-proliferation plan.
In response to increased sanctions and as the U.S. and South Korea prepared to start annual war exercises, North Korea threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, then said it was declaring the armistice invalid and cut off a phone link between North and South Korea used for emergency communication.
In September 2010, Kim Jong Un was appointed to political and military posts, fueling speculation Kim Jong Il’s youngest son would one day be his successor. Sure enough, Kim Jong Un took over after his father died in December 2011.
North Korea carried out another underground nuclear test in February 2013 despite international condemnation. Sanctions from the U.N. Security Council followed.
In response to increased sanctions and as the U.S. and South Korea prepared to start annual war exercises, North Korea threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, then said it was declaring the armistice invalid and cut off a phone link between North and South Korea used for emergency communication.
