Korean War Timeline

1910

WWII Japanese Occupation of Korea

In 1910, after years of war between Japan and Korea, Korea is defeated and becomes a part of the Empire of Japan. This ruling continues up until 1945, when Japan surrenders during WWII, causing them to retreat from the Koreas.

1910

1945

Post-WWII Divide of Korea

Following Japan's surrender, the Korea's were occupied by the Soivets in the North and the US in the South. This caused the Koreas to be split into two at what is called the 38th Parallel. This divide led to the formation of present-day countries North and South Korea, repsectively.

1945

1948

Change in Power in South Korea

Following South Korean independence, a constitutional republic was adopted, aligning more with American views due to their presence following Japan's defeat. The people of South Korea elected Syngman Rhee (pictured right) to be the first president of the country, where he fought for the independence of the nation

1948

1948

North Korea Falls to Communism

Soviet influence in North Korea following Japan's defeat caused the newly independent nation to adopt a dictator-ruled state along with a socialst type of government. This dictatorship started with Kim Il-sung (pictured right) and continues today with every ruler following him coming from his family.

1948

1949

Chinese Revolution

After WWII ended, the Chinese Revolution started between communist leader, Mao Zedong (right), and nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek. This revolution became a large-sclae civil war and finally, in 1949, the communist party came out on top. This meant China would fall to communism, with resulted in higher tensions between the UN and the global communist threat.

1949

1950

North Korea Invades South Korea

On June 25, 1950, gthe North Korean army invaded South Korea at the 38th Parallel. This attack was unprovoked and officially signified the beginning of the Korean War. This invasion would later force the UN to act as this threatened even more communism to spread across the globe.

1950

1950

UN Responds to Invasion

After the South Korean invasion, the UN held a meeting to discuss North Korea's aggression. 21 nations in the UN committed themselves to protecting South Korea against the Northern threat. Part of this was due to the fear of communism and also the theory from the US, led by President Harry Truman (right), that the Soviets had influenced this invasion, which later turned out to be true. The US led the UN's efforts to defend South Korea and through this, the allies were able to push North Korean forces back to the 28th Parallel.

1950

1950

Truman Fires MacArthur

Later in 1950, things became tense between US president Truman and US Military General MacArthur (pictured right). General MacArthur had wanted to invade China, but this idea was quickly shot down by Truman, which prompted MacArthur to openly criticize the president. This led to the final decision from Truman to fire MacArthur due to his distasteful comments.

1950

1951

Talks of peace begin

In 1951, about 1 year after the official start of the Korean War, UN officials and North Korean leaders began to have talks of peace in what was called the Korean Armistice Agreement. This agreement called for a ceasefire until negotiation over a peace treaty could be made. President Eisenhower promised peace, but this promise was not fulfilled as, following the armistice, a stalemate continued for two years until 1953.

1951

1953

Armistice Negotiations

Finally, in 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreements were accepted by the UN General Assembly, however, no peace treaty was ever signed between North Korea and the UN. This means that after over 70 years, the Korean war still has never technically been ended. What the Korean Armistice Agreements did accomplish was designating a demilitarization zone on the border of North and South Korea to prevent a war like this from happening again in the future.

1953