when did north korea and south korea divide
Division of Korea The division of Korea between North and South Korea was the result of the Allied victory in World WarÂ II in 1945, ending the Empire of Japan's 35-year rule over Korea. The United States and the Soviet Union occupied the country, with the boundary between their zones of control along the 38th parallel.
Korean War After the first two months of war, South Korean and U.S. forces rapidly dispatched to Korea were on the point of defeat, forced back to a small area in the south known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Incheon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. UN forces rapidly approached the Yalu River—the border with China—but in October 1950, mass Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war.[45] The surprise Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951.
Division of Korea The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed after three years of war. The two sides agreed to create a four-kilometer-wide buffer zone between the states, known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This new border, reflecting the territory held by each side at the end of the war, crossed the 38th parallel diagonally. Rhee refused to accept the armistice and continued to urge the reunification of the country by force.[58] Despite attempts by both sides to reunify the country, the war perpetuated the division of Korea and led to a permanent alliance between South Korea and the U.S., and a permanent U.S. garrison in the South.[59]
Economic nationalism While the coining of the term "