THE UNFORGETTABLE KOREAN WAR: NORTH KOREA V SOUTH KOREA

The North Korea-South Korea conflicts highlight the diplomatic and sensitive relationship that two states in the eastern Asian peninsula hold. The two nations, which were formerly ruled by japan as a single nation in 1910, have been divided since the end of World War 2 in 1945. Though both these nations have never been in an open war since the 1950-1953 war, yet a cold war continues between them. Despite the fact that these nations lie in the same Korean peninsula, the political ideologies of both are dissimilar and opposed by the other. North Korea is an autocratic one-party communist state whereas South Korea is a presidential democratic state, with multiple parties. This difference in the political ideologies of both states is considered to be the most important reason for the diplomatic relationship they share. 

De-Facto Division

In the earlier 20^th century japan was a big imperial power, conquering all the territories surrounding its island. In 1910, japan deposed the king of Korea and occupied the kingdom of Korea. They ruled as a very oppressive regime for over 35 years and tried to eradicate the complete culture of Korea. In 1939, World War 2 began and japan was a very crucial part of the war. It continued for about 6 years when finally in 1945, USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus bringing it to an end, with Japan losing the war. Soon after this, the Korean peninsula was taken over by the USA and USSR troops. The USSR army entered from the north and USA troops from the south and decided that they will stop at 38^th degree parallel. This is the initial reason for the division of the Korean peninsula, known as de facto division. Both the armies divided the country into north and south but planned that they will reunite this area after 5 years. 

Contrasting Political Ideologies

The North part of Korea became a communist state under the communist influence of USSR whereas the South part of Korea was becoming a pro-western country, and though the people were against the USA yet the leaders were trying to instil a sense of pro-western culture in this area. Till 1948, both the areas of Korea were ruled by the occupying army of USSR and USA. After that elections took place in the south regime and though it was alleged that they weren’t fair and were ricked, a leader named Syngman Rhee came to power who was pro-USA. While in the north, no elections happened and the USSR made Kim II sung the president as he was a strong abider of the communist ideology.

Both these leaders came into power almost at the same time and were totally against each other as they didn’t believe in each other’s political ideologies. Syngman Rhee was an anti-communist whereas Kim Sung was against the pro – USA ideology. Both the leaders wanted the country to unite but with their own respective government as the leading government. This difference in the political ideologies of the two nations is considered to be the most important reason for the Korean conflicts. Till date, North Korea is a communist state whereas South Korea from 1987 is a democratic state.

The War of 1950-1953

From 1948 onwards Small border clashes and conflicts had begun in between both these countries resulting in fire and bombing at certain places. By 1950, North Korea with its strong military was ready for a war against the South. On June 25, 1950, they invaded the south so as to unify the Korean peninsula. As soon as this invasion began, the UN passed a resolution to help South Korea; this was the first time that United Nations (UN) intervened militarily anywhere in the world. The USSR though a permanent member of the Security Council could have used the veto to ensure that the resolution cannot be passed, but they didn’t as they were boycotting the UN at that time.

The northern army attacked the southern region and overran almost the entire peninsula up to Busan. Soon after this, in September 1950 there was an outflanking manoeuvre by the US troops which was led by Gen Douglas MacArthur, thus resulting in amphibious landings at Incheon and reoccupying Seoul. The UN forces even reached the Yalu River thus breaking the de facto division agreement of stopping of armies at 38^th degree parallel.      

Soon after this china entered the war on October 1950 and pushed the UN forces back and even captured back Seoul by January 7, 1951. Even USSR supported china by sending in air force armies and helping them gain a wider region. Now the fight wasn’t just between the south and north armies but between the Chinese army and the UN troops.                                    

In April 1951, the UN army once again pushed back the Chinese forces and recaptured Seoul. After this, for the next two years there was a stalemate around the 38^th degree parallel as neither the Chinese nor the UN forces had the resources to push back and start a war, and so the fight continued around this region only.                                                                                  

This war had a lot of war crimes from both the sides, thus causing the death of around 2.5 million civilians and 1 million military deaths.  Though this war was such a drastic war yet there were no major changes in the geographical, political and administrative areas of the states, hence it is often known as the forgotten war.

The Armistice 

On June 27, 1953 an armistice was signed between both the regions, thus ceasing all the violence and bloodshed. India played a very important role in these negotiations; general Thimayya of India played a crucial role in the repatriations of prisoners of war.

After this both the armies moved 2 kilometers back, thus creating a 4 km exclusion zone at the border known as the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Though both the armies cannot officially send their troops there yet the demilitarized zone has heavy military around it and the area is full of land mines and barbed wires. This wasn’t a peace treaty but was a temporary agreement for controlling the situation until any final decision was made. 

Sunshine Policy 

The end of the war brought an economic crisis in both the states, while South Korea was able to deal with the losses by taking proper actions, North Korea failed. In South Korea, an economic boom and democratic revolution happened in 1987 leading to a path towards a developing country. Whereas in North Korea, no such action was taken and till date, it is considered to be a very backward state with its economy in a dire state and almost no trade with other countries.                   

In December 1991, both the states made an agreement on reconciliation, pledging peace and cultural and economic exchanges. Soon after this in 1998, the South Korean president announced a sunshine policy towards North Korea. It basically had three principles:

1. No armed provocation by the North will be tolerated.
2. The South will not attempt to absorb the North in any way.
3. The South actively seeks cooperation and promotes reconciliation.

This policy was established in pursuit of more peaceful relationships with North Korea. It was actively supported by the other leaders too, but in 2010 it was formally abandoned thus creating a more hostile relationship between the two states. After this, both the states were at a cold war, which created a lot of tension at the border; at times it was escalated to such a high level that led to firing and even bombing in certain regions. This situation prevailed till 2018. 

2018: A year of Relief 

From 2017 onwards the relationship between both the nations started thriving, with the South Korean president promising the people that he will bring back the sunshine policy. In 2018, Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader proposed to send in a delegation to the winter Olympics which were to be held in South Korea; both the states marched together in the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics. Soon after this on 1 April, the South Korean k-pop artists performed in North Korea for the first time after 2005, this event was attended by Kim Jong and his wife. Following this, on April 27 summit took place between Moon and Kim in the South Korean zone of the Joint Security Area. This summit ended with both the nations vowing to officially end the Korean War within a year. The two countries signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, which was submitted to the United Nations general assembly on September 6, 2018.This declaration was to end the Korean conflicts and to begin a new era of national reconciliation, peace, reunification and prosperity and improvements to inter-Korean communication and relations. 

2019-20: A Period of Diplomacy 

On 30 June 2019, Kim and Moon met again in the DMZ, joined by US President Trump who initiated the meeting. Meanwhile, The US and South Korea took part in joint military drills in August, which was later criticized by the north. Despite all these small disagreements, Kim and Moon continued to have a close and respectful relationship.                            

But on 9 June 2020, North Korea began breaking of all of its communication lines with South Korea, which substantially diminished the agreements which were made in 2018. On June 16, the North Korean government threatened the South to send back the troops that had been withdrawn from the border. Later that day, the North Korean government bombed a joint office in Kaesong causing a lot of damage. On June 21, South Korea urged North Korea to not send propaganda leaflets across the border. The request followed the North’s statement that it was ready to send 12 million leaflets, which could potentially become the largest psychological campaign against South Korea. The reason behind this arbitrary whim is still not known, but it has once again wrecked the relationship of both the states.

Conclusion

The Korean conflict, which is said to be the longest-running conflict of the modern age, highlights the diplomatic and sensitive relationship that two nations of the Korean peninsula share. The conflict which began as disapproval of each other’s political ideology, with the main aim to unite the nation has somewhere lost its essence of uniting the nation. The never-ending cold wars between the two nations have impeded the peace process. The Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula signed in 2018, was considered to be the end of the longest war but the diplomacy shown by North Korea in 2019-20 has tampered that agreement too. Both the nations have suffered a lot due to this internal conflict and it’s time that they ponder upon the importance of ending this war, and co-existing peacefully without harming each other.