Korean War

In mid-1950, after the North Korean Army crossed the border and attacked its neighbor, South Koreans began to flee from their homes.  They sought safety in the southern part of their country.  Image online, courtesy U.S. Department of Defense.

At 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning, 25 June 1950, North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel (known as the "Line of Demarcation" in that part of the world), and launched a full-scale invasion of South Korea. The UN Security Council immediately passed a resolution calling on the "Democratic People’s Republic of Korea" (the DPRK) to cease hostilities and to withdraw.

 When the North Koreans refused, the Security Council passed a second resolution on the 27th of June, recommending that UN members "furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea [South Korea] as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."

Meanwhile, DPRK’s southern-moving forces were advancing rapidly. Seoul, South Korea’s capital, fell in four days.

These events posed a major challenge to the Truman Administration and to America’s allies. If the invasion were not checked, it would set a precedent that could easily undermine the confidence of post-WWII countries relying on the U.S. for protection. Countries like South Korea.

How was it that a nation, politically unified for two millennia, was now fighting itself?