Korea Divided at the 38th Parallel after WWII
August 15th, 1945
There’s been a clear division between North and South Korea ever since the surrendering of Japan August 15, 1945. It was the Allied victory that had ended Japan’s occupation of thirty-five in Korea. February, 1945 Stalin and President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed for a trusteeship for Korea. The Soviets decided to move into Korea from the north which made the US fearful of the spread of communism and the US did not want the Soviet Union to take over all of the Korean peninsula. Since the Soviets occupied the northern part of the country the US wanted to create a US occupation zone, so the US government officials drew an evenly divided line between north and south while still leaving Seoul under US control. August, 1945 the evenly divided line became official. The Soviet Union and the US agreed to divide Korea at this drawn line, more commonly known as the 38th parallel. Late 1945 Allied foreign ministers met up at a conference in Moscow to set up a trusteeship that lasted five years, to have Korea contain a provisional government so the country would be able to become independent. The ministers decided to form a joint US and Soviet body to help organize the provisional government. The Northern Korean communists at first did not agree to the proposal, but eventually changed their minds and pushed for a national divide.
There’s been a clear division between North and South Korea ever since the surrendering of Japan August 15, 1945. It was the Allied victory that had ended Japan’s occupation of thirty-five in Korea. February, 1945 Stalin and President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed for a trusteeship for Korea. The Soviets decided to move into Korea from the north which made the US fearful of the spread of communism and the US did not want the Soviet Union to take over all of the Korean peninsula. Since the Soviets occupied the northern part of the country the US wanted to create a US occupation zone, so the US government officials drew an evenly divided line between north and south while still leaving Seoul under US control. August, 1945 the evenly divided line became official. The Soviet Union and the US agreed to divide Korea at this drawn line, more commonly known as the 38th parallel. Late 1945 Allied foreign ministers met up at a conference in Moscow to set up a trusteeship that lasted five years, to have Korea contain a provisional government so the country would be able to become independent. The ministers decided to form a joint US and Soviet body to help organize the provisional government. The Northern Korean communists at first did not agree to the proposal, but eventually changed their minds and pushed for a national divide.