North Korea Explained – 4 – The Outbreak of the Korean War, Part 2

After pushing North Korean forces back from Busan, the South finally recaptured Seoul and reached an important turning point.

Should they advance beyond the 38th parallel, or stop here?

The 38th parallel had already served as the dividing line between North and South Korea before the Korean War, making it a highly sensitive military and political symbol for both sides.

Crossing it meant more than expanding the scope of military operations. It was also a key test of whether the war was meant only to defeat the North Korean army or to overthrow the North Korean regime and reunify the peninsula.

If Korea were reunified, China and the Soviet Union would share a direct border with a Korea where U.S. and UN forces could be present. This could prompt China or the Soviet Union to take action.

But if North Korean forces were not completely defeated,

they might regroup and try to attack again.

After the successful Incheon Landing,

the South gained the upper hand, and U.S. leadership began seriously debating the issue. They split into two camps: those who wanted to advance farther and those who wanted to stop.

Those Who Wanted to Advance: Liberate North Korea

Douglas MacArthur — Commander-in-Chief of UN Forces

“I intend to destroy and not to drive back the North Korean forces.”

Omar Bradley — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“MacArthur should not be restrained at the 38th parallel.”

John Allison — State Department official responsible for Northeast Asian affairs

“There will be no permanent peace and stability in Korea as long as the artificial division at the 38th parallel continues.”

vs

Those Who Wanted to Stop: Keep the Division

Harry S. Truman — President of the United States

“to prevent a third world war”

Paul Nitze — Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff

“the risk of a major conflict with the USSR or Communist China”

George F. Kennan — State Department diplomat involved in policy planning

“It might be that we would have to permit air operations, though no ground-force occupation, north of that line…”

After gaining the upper hand with the Incheon Landing on September 15, South Korean and UN forces fought fierce battles in Seoul from September 23 to 25.

On September 27, the South Korean flag was raised again over the Government-General building.

That same day, a major decision that could change everything came from the United States.

President Truman, who had been wary of advancing north of the 38th parallel, approved the directive submitted by Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall to destroy the North Korean forces.

He approved it.

However, he approved it conditionally, as he remained determined to prevent a third world war.

Summary of the directive

Advance north of the 38th parallel permitted
Monitor possible Chinese or Soviet intervention
No attacks on Chinese or Soviet territory
Occupation of North Korea to be decided separately

MacArthur was required to submit subsequent operational plans for approval.

After the remaining North Korean forces in Seoul were cleared, South Korea fully recaptured the city on September 28.

And the following day,

General MacArthur received a message from Secretary of Defense Marshall that would continue to be quoted more than half a century later.

We want you to feel unhampered tactically and strategically to proceed north of 38th parallel.

Yes, We Advance.

October 1

South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel first.


The main advance by U.S. and UN forces began on October 7, the day the UN General Assembly supported measures toward establishing a unified Korea.

The following day, October 8, China also made a move.

It reorganized its northeastern border defense forces into the Chinese People’s Volunteers.

Changing the force’s organization was also a sign that preparations for intervention were underway.

However, this movement could also have been interpreted as a show of force.

China, too, could hardly sit idle once forces crossed the 38th parallel.

Perhaps for that reason,

October 15

At his meeting with President Truman on Wake Island, MacArthur reported that he considered the possibility of major Chinese intervention to be low.

And on October 19,

South Korean and UN forces continued advancing and eventually captured Pyongyang.

That same day, after hearing that Pyongyang had fallen, China finally moved.

Chinese People’s Volunteer Army forces waiting at the border crossed the Yalu River and entered North Korea.

October 25

UN forces and Chinese troops fought their first major battle.

And on November 1,
The Soviet Union also entered the fighting.

Soviet MiG-15 fighters engaged UN aircraft.

Already facing numerical disadvantages, South Korean and UN forces began losing the initiative as additional large Chinese forces were deployed around November 10.

Then an unexpected factor sharply shifted the course of the war.

The Cold

Despite beginning under unfavorable conditions and being pushed back to Busan through successive battles, South Korean and UN forces eventually turned the tide.

They might have been able to continue fighting the enemy itself.

But

by late November, temperatures around the Chosin Reservoir could already fall to -30°C.

The cold at the Chosin Reservoir must have been the worst possible setback for them.

Gun lubricants froze or stopped working properly, and vehicle and radio batteries were also affected by the cold.
Treating the wounded and managing blood supplies and medicines became difficult as well.
Many soldiers were rendered unable to fight by frostbite before they even had a chance to engage the enemy.

Loss category	🇺🇸 UN forces	VS	🇨🇳 Chinese forces
Forces committed	Approx. 30,000	VS	Approx. 120,000
Killed	Approx. 700	VS	Estimated 20,000–30,000
Wounded	Approx. 3,500	VS	Estimated thousands to tens of thousands
Missing or captured	Approx. 200	VS	Exact figure uncertain
Non-combat losses, including extreme cold	7,313 among Marines	VS	30,732 in the 9th Army Group
Total losses	Different counting criteria	VS	52,098 in the 9th Army Group

Despite the Chinese forces outnumbering them by more than four to one, South Korean forces inflicted enormous losses on the Chinese army.

As mentioned earlier, they might have been able to handle the fighting itself.

But beneath those figures,

you can see that non-combat losses caused by extreme cold and other factors
were greater than the combined number of soldiers killed and wounded in combat.

The cold was a disaster for them.

And it was only November; the weather was certain to grow colder by the day.

For forces continuing their advance north, the reasons to turn back must have seemed clear.

December 15

UN forces withdrew from North Korea, moving the front south.

This became known as the Hungnam Evacuation. Hungnam was a port, so troops and refugees were transported south by ship from Hungnam Harbor.

Was it because they had lost the initiative?

January 4, 1951

Seoul was lost again to North Korean and Chinese forces.

Determined not to lose Seoul, South Korean and UN forces fought battle after battle.

March 15, 1951

Seoul was recaptured.

The war then settled into a stalemate.

And then,
the peninsula would ultimately become permanently divided into North and South.

Armistice Talks

The armistice talks began on July 10, 1951.

Talks: July 10, 1951 – July 27, 1953

After lengthy negotiations, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, stopping the fighting, but no peace treaty was signed. The war therefore did not formally end with a peace treaty.

A Country Under an Armistice

That is the situation that remained.

The situation could have led to a third world war.

Or—

perhaps it did begin, but was brought to an early end.

And all that turmoil

began with one man:

Kim Il Sung.

As a result, countless people who had done nothing wrong—

many young Americans and soldiers from UN member states lost their lives, and even more than 70 years later,

the Korean Peninsula, once one country, remains

divided in two.

It is infuriating, but what can we do?

All I can do is

express my sincere gratitude to the American soldiers and the soldiers from UN member states who sacrificed themselves then, and say that today’s South Korea exists thanks to them.

Thank you.

Truly, thank you.

16 Countries That Sent Combat Troops

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Turkey, the Philippines, Thailand, South Africa, Ethiopia, Colombia

6 Countries That Provided Medical Support

Sweden, India, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)

“Will North Korea ever be free?”