Put it together: Who made the Korean War happen?

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

Each actor shaped the war. Choose one and weigh its role against the others.

Whose role was most important in causing and shaping the war?

Kim Il-sung

  • Repeatedly pressed Stalin to approve an invasion.
  • Launched the attack of 25 June 1950.

Kim's drive to reunify Korea started the war.

He could not have attacked without Soviet approval and weapons.

Stalin and the USSR

  • Approved the invasion in early 1950.
  • Supplied weapons and advisers, but avoided open combat.

Stalin's approval made the invasion possible.

He passed responsibility to Mao and limited Soviet involvement.

Mao and China

  • Consented to the invasion in May 1950.
  • Intervened massively in October-November 1950.

China's intervention turned the war into a long stalemate.

China did not start the war and entered only when UN forces approached its border.

Truman and the USA

  • Committed forces through the UN within days.
  • Crossed the 38th parallel in October 1950.

The US response internationalised the war and its advance north brought China in.

The USA responded to the invasion rather than causing it.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Truman explains American action

    Paraphrase of President Truman's statement on the situation in Korea, 27 June 1950.

  • A secret plan for national security

    Paraphrase of NSC-68, a top secret report to the US National Security Council, 14 April 1950.

  • China's foreign minister responds to a ceasefire proposal

    Paraphrase of a statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, 22 December 1950, as cabled to the UN General Assembly President and reported by the US representative at the UN.

  • The Korean Armistice Agreement

    Paraphrase of the Korean Armistice Agreement, signed at Panmunjom, 27 July 1953.

  • Stalin replies to Kim Il-sung, January 1950

    Paraphrase of a telegram from Joseph Stalin to Terenti Shtykov, the Soviet ambassador in Pyongyang, 30 January 1950, from the Russian Presidential Archive, in the English translation published by the National Security Archive and the Cold War International History Project. Paraphrased because the translation's licence is unclear.

  • the UN Security Council acts, 27 June 1950

    Extract from United Nations Security Council Resolution 83 (1950), adopted at the Council's 474th meeting on 27 June 1950 by 7 votes to 1 (Yugoslavia). The Soviet representative was boycotting the Council. A UN record.

  • Truman's advisers meet at Blair House, 25 June 1950

    Extract from a memorandum of conversation by Ambassador at Large Philip Jessup, recording the dinner meeting of President Truman and his senior advisers at Blair House, Washington, on the evening of 25 June 1950. Top Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, volume VII, document 86. A US government document in the public domain.

  • China's warning, October 1950

    Extract from a circular telegram from Acting Secretary of State James Webb to certain US diplomatic and consular posts, Washington, 5 October 1950, two days before American forces crossed the 38th parallel. Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, volume VII, document 614. A US government document in the public domain. (Abbreviations as in the original telegram.)

  • MacArthur meets Truman on Wake Island, 15 October 1950

    Extract from "Substance of Statements Made at Wake Island Conference on 15 October 1950", compiled by General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from notes kept by the officials who came from Washington. Top Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, volume VII, document 680. A US government document in the public domain.

The Wise Otter

Getting your study space ready