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{{Infobox military conflict|combatant1=[[File:Flag of the DPRK.svg|20px]] [[ | {{Infobox military conflict|combatant1=[[File:Flag of the DPRK.svg|20px]][[DPRK]]<br>[[File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg|20px]][[PRC]]<br>'''Major support:'''<br>[[File:The Flag of the USSR.png|20px]][[USSR]]|conflict=Fatherland Liberation War|combatant2=[[File:South Korea flag.png|20px]][[Republic of Korea|ROK]]<br>[[File:Flag of the United States.svg|20px]][[USA]]<br>[[File:Flag of the UN.png|20px]][[UN]]|place=[[Korea|Korean Peninsula]], Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea|date=25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 ''(de-facto)''<br>25 June 1950 – present ''(de-jure)''|result=Military stalemate, inactive conflict (post-1953)|image=Korean war image.jpg|strength1='''Peak strength:'''<br>[[File:Flag of the DPRK.svg|20px]]266,600<br>[[File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg|20px]]1,450,000<br>[[File:The Flag of the USSR.png|20px]]26,000<br>'''Total:'' 1,742,000'''|strength2='''Peak strength:'''<br>[[File:South Korea flag.png|20px]]602,902<br>[[File:Flag of the United States.svg|20px]]326,863<br>[[File:Flag of the UN.png|20px]]42,569<br>'''Total:'' 972,334'''}} | ||
The '''Korean War''', also known as the '''Fatherland Liberation War''' (Korean: 조국해방전쟁) in the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (DPRK), the '''War to Resist American Imperialism and Aid Korea''' (Chinese: 抗美援朝战争; pinyin: ''Kàngměi Yuáncháo Zhànzhēng'') in the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) and the '''6.25 War''' (Korean: 6·25 전쟁) in [[Republic of Korea|South Korea]], was a highly devastating armed conflict which developed in [[Korea]] after the peninsula was divided between North and South at the end of the [[Second World War]] with the surrender of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]], who had been occupying Korea since 1910. The war is conventionally considered to have occurred from 1950 to 1953, however, this time frame conforms to the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[United States of America|U.S.]] perspective of the conflict and is challenged by [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] narratives of the nature and timeline of the war. The main period of armed conflict ceased in 1953 with an armistice agreement, which the U.S. abrogated in 1958 by delivering nuclear weapons to South Korea.<ref>Lee Jae-Bong (2009-02-07). [https://apjjf.org/-Lee-Jae-Bong/3053/article.html "US Deployment of Nuclear Weapons in 1950s South Korea & North Korea's Nuclear Development: Toward Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula"] ''The Asia-Pacific Journal''. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://apjjf.org/-Lee-Jae-Bong/3053/article.html Archived] 2022-08-19.</ref> Although the armistice was signed in 1953, a peace agreement is still yet to be put in place, and the Korean peninsula remains divided. | The '''Korean War''', also known as the '''Fatherland Liberation War''' (Korean: 조국해방전쟁) in the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (DPRK), the '''War to Resist American Imperialism and Aid Korea''' (Chinese: 抗美援朝战争; pinyin: ''Kàngměi Yuáncháo Zhànzhēng'') in the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) and the '''6.25 War''' (Korean: 6·25 전쟁) in [[Republic of Korea|South Korea]], was a highly devastating armed conflict which developed in [[Korea]] after the peninsula was divided between North and South at the end of the [[Second World War]] with the surrender of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]], who had been occupying Korea since 1910. The war is conventionally considered to have occurred from 1950 to 1953, however, this time frame conforms to the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[United States of America|U.S.]] perspective of the conflict and is challenged by [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] narratives of the nature and timeline of the war. The main period of armed conflict ceased in 1953 with an armistice agreement, which the U.S. abrogated in 1958 by delivering nuclear weapons to South Korea.<ref>Lee Jae-Bong (2009-02-07). [https://apjjf.org/-Lee-Jae-Bong/3053/article.html "US Deployment of Nuclear Weapons in 1950s South Korea & North Korea's Nuclear Development: Toward Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula"] ''The Asia-Pacific Journal''. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://apjjf.org/-Lee-Jae-Bong/3053/article.html Archived] 2022-08-19.</ref> Although the armistice was signed in 1953, a peace agreement is still yet to be put in place, and the Korean peninsula remains divided. | ||
The division of Korea into North and South was originally intended to be only temporary, with the United States and [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] helping ease Korea's transition out of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japanese]] [[Colonialism|colonial]] rule. While the Soviet Union promptly withdrew its troops from the North in 1948, the imperialist United States took steps to ensure the entrenchment of the Southern regime, holding elections and declaring the formations of the Republic of Korea in 1948 despite widespread opposition among the Korean masses, which the U.S. and Southern forces, working jointly with far-right paramilitary gangs, repressed in mass arrests and killings, such as in the case of the [[Jeju Uprising]]. | The division of Korea into North and South was originally intended to be only temporary, with the United States and [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] helping ease Korea's transition out of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japanese]] [[Colonialism|colonial]] rule. While the Soviet Union promptly withdrew its troops from the North in 1948, the imperialist United States took steps to ensure the entrenchment of the Southern regime, holding elections and declaring the formations of the Republic of Korea in 1948 despite widespread opposition among the Korean masses, which the U.S. and Southern forces, working jointly with far-right paramilitary gangs, repressed in mass arrests and killings, such as in the case of the [[Jeju Uprising]]. The North-South division of the Korean nation and the U.S. occupation of the South has persisted to the present day, South Korea being a "complete colony occupied by the U.S. military" in the words of the People's Democracy Party, a revolutionary workers' party in South Korea.<ref>People's Democracy Party and Liberation School. [https://www.liberationschool.org/korean-war-70-years/ “70 Years Too Long: The Struggle to End the Korean War – Liberation School.”] ''Liberation School – Revolutionary Marxism for a New Generation of Fighters'', 25 June 2020. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.liberationschool.org/korean-war-70-years/ Archived].</ref> | ||
During the 1950-1953 conflict, the DPRK was supported by its sister socialist nations, the USSR and the People's Republic of China, and the Southern regime was backed by the United States and the U.S.-controlled [[United Nations]] Command (UNC). Although the United States led the UNC and provided the bulk of its troops and funding, the operation was referred to as "UN-led" and was called a "police action." The [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|USSR]] was absent during the decisions to form this joint security operation, as it was boycotting the United Nations due to the non-admission of PRC.<ref>[https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/united-nations-korea "The United Nations in Korea."] Harry S. Truman Library. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/united-nations-korea Archived] 2022-08-19.</ref> | During the 1950-1953 conflict, the DPRK was supported by its sister socialist nations, the USSR and the People's Republic of China, and the Southern regime was backed by the United States and the U.S.-controlled [[United Nations]] Command (UNC). Although the United States led the UNC and provided the bulk of its troops and funding, the operation was referred to as "UN-led" and was called a "police action." The [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|USSR]] was absent during the decisions to form this joint security operation, as it was boycotting the United Nations due to the non-admission of PRC.<ref>[https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/united-nations-korea "The United Nations in Korea."] Harry S. Truman Library. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/united-nations-korea Archived] 2022-08-19.</ref> | ||
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=== Entry of People's China === | === Entry of People's China === | ||
The US invaders continued north towards the Yalu River which separates Korea from China. On 25 October, [[Mao Zedong]] deployed 300,000 soldiers of the [[People's Volunteer Army]] to Korea. Chinese and Korean forces drove the US back past the 38th parallel and liberated Pyongyang on 5 December. MacArthur threatened to use 50 nuclear bombs against Korea, but Truman declined. | The US invaders continued north towards the Yalu River which separates Korea from China. On 25 October, [[Mao Zedong]] deployed 300,000 soldiers of the [[People's Volunteer Army]] to Korea. Chinese and Korean forces drove the US back past the 38th parallel and liberated Pyongyang on 5 December. MacArthur threatened to use 50 nuclear bombs against Korea, but Truman declined. Instead, the US bombed Korea with 635,000 tons of conventional bombs and 32,557 tons of napalm, more explosives than had been used in the entire Pacific theater of the [[Second World War]]. The US killed roughly three million Koreans or 10% of the total population. | ||
The US destroyed 600,000 houses, 8,700 factories, 5,000 schools, and 1,000 hospitals. By the end of the war, only two modern buildings were left in Pyongyang. Korean society moved underground, with farmers working at night and staying in bunkers during the day. By the fall of 1952, the US had destroyed all towns and cities in the DPRK, and they then bombed irrigation dams on the Yalu River, flooding thousands of acres of farmland.<ref name=":12" /> | The US destroyed 600,000 houses, 8,700 factories, 5,000 schools, and 1,000 hospitals. By the end of the war, only two modern buildings were left in Pyongyang. Korean society moved underground, with farmers working at night and staying in bunkers during the day. By the fall of 1952, the US had destroyed all towns and cities in the DPRK, and they then bombed irrigation dams on the Yalu River, flooding thousands of acres of farmland.<ref name=":12" /> | ||
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=== Continued U.S. occupation of south Korea === | === Continued U.S. occupation of south Korea === | ||
<blockquote>''See also: [[Republic of Korea]], [[United States imperialism]]''</blockquote>The armistice has never been replaced with a peace treaty and the two sides remain technically at war, with the U.S. occupying the south and retaining operational control over the south Korean military in wartime, and regularly engaging in provocative joint military exercises with south Korea aimed at "decapitating" DPRK's government,<ref>Flounders, Sara. [https://www.workers.org/2022/08/66398/ “Faced with U.S. ‘Decapitation Drill’/DPRK Korea Missile Launch Is Self-Defense.”] Workers World. August 26, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221014032939/https://www.workers.org/2022/08/66398/ Archived] 2022-10-14.</ref> while enforcing strict [[economic sanctions]] against DPRK as a form of siege warfare. The U.S. also blocks inter-Korean reconciliation efforts initiated between north and south Korea. For example, in January 2020 when south Korean President [[Moon Jae-in|Moon Jae-In]] expressed interest in developing tourism to north Korea, the US ambassador Harry Harris blocked this effort, claiming that "independent" tourism plans would have to undergo U.S. consultation. The U.S. ambassador emphasized that the items inside South Korean tourists' luggage could violate sanctions.<ref>[https://nodutdol.org/sanctions-of-empire/ "제국의 제재 - Sanctions of Empire."] Nodutdol. October 20, 2020. [https://nodutdol.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sanctions-of-Empire.pdf PDF]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220520095404/https://nodutdol.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sanctions-of-Empire.pdf Archive].</ref> Through a combination of military, economic, and political means, the U.S. prevents north and south Korea from reconciling and continues to target and threaten | <blockquote>''See also: [[Republic of Korea]], [[United States imperialism]]''</blockquote>The armistice has never been replaced with a peace treaty and the two sides remain technically at war, with the U.S. occupying the south and retaining operational control over the south Korean military in wartime, and regularly engaging in provocative joint military exercises with south Korea aimed at "decapitating" DPRK's government,<ref>Flounders, Sara. [https://www.workers.org/2022/08/66398/ “Faced with U.S. ‘Decapitation Drill’/DPRK Korea Missile Launch Is Self-Defense.”] Workers World. August 26, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221014032939/https://www.workers.org/2022/08/66398/ Archived] 2022-10-14.</ref> while enforcing strict [[economic sanctions]] against DPRK as a form of siege warfare. The U.S. also blocks inter-Korean reconciliation efforts initiated between north and south Korea. For example, in January 2020 when south Korean President [[Moon Jae-in|Moon Jae-In]] expressed interest in developing tourism to north Korea, the US ambassador Harry Harris blocked this effort, claiming that "independent" tourism plans would have to undergo U.S. consultation. The U.S. ambassador emphasized that the items inside South Korean tourists' luggage could violate sanctions.<ref>[https://nodutdol.org/sanctions-of-empire/ "제국의 제재 - Sanctions of Empire."] Nodutdol. October 20, 2020. [https://nodutdol.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sanctions-of-Empire.pdf PDF]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220520095404/https://nodutdol.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sanctions-of-Empire.pdf Archive].</ref> Through a combination of military, economic, and political means, the U.S. prevents north and south Korea from reconciling and continues to target and threaten DPRK. | ||
== International involvement/reactions == | == International involvement/reactions == | ||
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=== USSR === | === USSR === | ||
Although the Soviets did not enter the Korean War in a major way, it was Soviet-made weaponry and other Soviet industrial products helped supply the fighting troops.<ref name=":5" /> The Soviet Union provided MIG fighter planes to | Although the Soviets did not enter the Korean War in a major way, it was Soviet-made weaponry and other Soviet industrial products helped supply the fighting troops.<ref name=":5" /> The Soviet Union provided MIG fighter planes to depend the DPRK, which were flown by Chinese, Soviet, and Korean pilots. They were limited in number to avoid too much direct conflict with the United States, which could have caused a larger war.<ref>{{Citation|author=Xiaoming Zhang|year=2002|title=Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-0b-94OJPcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Red+Wings+over+the+Yalu:+China,+the+Soviet+Union,+and+the+Air+War+in+Korea&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVg8uE-c_3AhXuRjABHddnDa8Q6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=Red%20Wings%20over%20the%20Yalu%3A%20China%2C%20the%20Soviet%20Union%2C%20and%20the%20Air%20War%20in%20Korea&f=false|publisher=Texas A&M University Press}}</ref> | ||
=== People's Republic of China === | === People's Republic of China === | ||
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Although DPRK survived and claimed victory against U.S. forces, the war was very disastrous. 635,000 tons of bombs and 32,557 tons of [[napalm]] were used by the United States.<ref>{{Citation|author=Rosemary Foot|year=1990|title=A Substitute for Victory: The Politics of Peacemaking at the Korean Armistice Talks|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n5eSAAAACAAJ&dq=A+Substitute+for+Victory:+The+Politics+of+Peacemaking+at+the+Korean+Armistice+Talks&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNv4r99s_3AhXVTTABHYh6D2QQ6AF6BAgIEAE|page=207–208|city=Ithaca|publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref> More than 8,700 factories were destroyed and 90,000 hectares of farmland had been spoilt.[https://espressostalinist.com/2013/03/29/kcna-on-the-korean-war/] Even biowarfare was said to have been used against communist forces in the form of infected fleas.<ref>{{Citation|author=Andrea Andreen, et al.|year=1952|title=Report of the International Scientific Commission for the Investigation of Facts Concerning Biological Warfare in Korea and China|title-url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4334133-ISC-Full-Report-Pub-Copy.html|city=Beijing}}</ref> Massive civilian losses were incurred—approximately 4 million have been estimated. By 1952, the bombing was so complete that the U.S. Air Force had effectively run out of targets.<ref name=":6">Talmadge, Eric. [https://apnews.com/article/international-news-asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-dd6256bad51e458cb2e8a1bf64b5c2b6 “64 Years after Korean War, North Still Digging up Bombs.”] AP NEWS. Associated Press. July 24, 2017. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230313163201/https://apnews.com/article/international-news-asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-dd6256bad51e458cb2e8a1bf64b5c2b6 Archived] 2023-03-13.</ref> The strategic bombing operations against civilian populations is laid bare by the following words of General Curtis LeMay:<blockquote>There are no innocent civilians. It is their government and you are fighting a people, you are not trying to fight an armed force anymore. So it doesn't bother me so much to be killing the so-called innocent bystanders.<ref>Sherry, Michael (September 10, 1989). ''The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon'', p. 287 (from "LeMay's interview with Sherry," interview "after the war," p. 408 n. 108). Yale University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0300044140.</ref> | Although DPRK survived and claimed victory against U.S. forces, the war was very disastrous. 635,000 tons of bombs and 32,557 tons of [[napalm]] were used by the United States.<ref>{{Citation|author=Rosemary Foot|year=1990|title=A Substitute for Victory: The Politics of Peacemaking at the Korean Armistice Talks|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n5eSAAAACAAJ&dq=A+Substitute+for+Victory:+The+Politics+of+Peacemaking+at+the+Korean+Armistice+Talks&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNv4r99s_3AhXVTTABHYh6D2QQ6AF6BAgIEAE|page=207–208|city=Ithaca|publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref> More than 8,700 factories were destroyed and 90,000 hectares of farmland had been spoilt.[https://espressostalinist.com/2013/03/29/kcna-on-the-korean-war/] Even biowarfare was said to have been used against communist forces in the form of infected fleas.<ref>{{Citation|author=Andrea Andreen, et al.|year=1952|title=Report of the International Scientific Commission for the Investigation of Facts Concerning Biological Warfare in Korea and China|title-url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4334133-ISC-Full-Report-Pub-Copy.html|city=Beijing}}</ref> Massive civilian losses were incurred—approximately 4 million have been estimated. By 1952, the bombing was so complete that the U.S. Air Force had effectively run out of targets.<ref name=":6">Talmadge, Eric. [https://apnews.com/article/international-news-asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-dd6256bad51e458cb2e8a1bf64b5c2b6 “64 Years after Korean War, North Still Digging up Bombs.”] AP NEWS. Associated Press. July 24, 2017. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230313163201/https://apnews.com/article/international-news-asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-dd6256bad51e458cb2e8a1bf64b5c2b6 Archived] 2023-03-13.</ref> The strategic bombing operations against civilian populations is laid bare by the following words of General Curtis LeMay:<blockquote>There are no innocent civilians. It is their government and you are fighting a people, you are not trying to fight an armed force anymore. So it doesn't bother me so much to be killing the so-called innocent bystanders.<ref>Sherry, Michael (September 10, 1989). ''The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon'', p. 287 (from "LeMay's interview with Sherry," interview "after the war," p. 408 n. 108). Yale University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0300044140.</ref> | ||
</blockquote>In the present day, DPRK citizens continue to find unexploded ordinance and be injured by old bombs that were dropped by the US and UN forces, and have to evacuate areas and send in bomb squads where such explosives are found, as well as educate citizens, especially children, about the explosives. Each of DPRK's nine provinces maintains a bomb squad. In 2016, the bomb squad that covers | </blockquote>In the present day, DPRK citizens continue to find unexploded ordinance and be injured by old bombs that were dropped by the US and UN forces, and have to evacuate areas and send in bomb squads where such explosives are found, as well as educate citizens, especially children, about the explosives. Each of DPRK's nine provinces maintains a bomb squad. In 2016, the bomb squad that covers Hamhung, DPRK's second-largest city, located in [[South Hamgyong Province]], reported handling 2,900 leftover explosives in an interview with AP News. The Hamhung area and the nearby port of Hungnam were hit particularly hard by U.S. bombers because they were an industrial center and home to the largest nitrogen fertilizer plant in Asia. Later rebuilt, the fertilizer plant is still functioning today and remains one of Hamhung’s most famous landmarks. Other areas where bombs may be found include places where railways were located during the war. The bomb squads respond to calls when ordnance is discovered and check construction sites before excavation work begins <ref name=":6" /> | ||
== Suppression of dissident narratives of the war == | == Suppression of dissident narratives of the war == | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Wars]] | |||
[[Category:Wars |