Korean War History Research Paper Coursework Essay (Research Paper Sample)

Korean War
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Korean War
The Korean War was a war fought between North Korea and South Korea. The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea into two states at the 38th parallel in 1948 during the Cold War (Sandler, 2015). The Soviet Union supported communist North Korea, whereas the United States backed South Korea. Kim II-sung led North Korea, and Syngman Rhee was in charge of South Korea after the division. In 1950, Kim invaded South Korea after a series of clashes along the border. Communist China and the Soviet Union covertly supported North Korea by providing military for the invasion (Stack, 2018). On the contrary, the United States rallied the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to plead support for South Korea after two days of the invasion.
The Korean War went on for three years until 1953, and the result was a stalemate. Neither Kim II-sung nor Syngman Rhee won the war because of the Korean Armistice Agreement signed on 27 July 1953. The agreement required the 38th parallel border to remain where it was at the beginning of the war, and each state to return prisoners to their home state (Sandler, 2015). However, America perceived the agreement as a victory in the Korean War because it prevented the spread of communism to South Korea. If North Korea had won the war, both South Korea and North Korea would embrace communist. America’s intervention in the war enabled South Korea to defend itself from the invasion. Henceforth, South Korea remained a capitalist state, which was the interest of the United States.