Rhee made himself unpopular by telling the people in Seoul to stay in the city when the Korean War started. He had already left. His decision to cut the bridges on the Han River stopped thousands of people from escaping from the Communists. The UN and South Korean forces fought back and drove the North Koreans north towards the Yalu River. After a Chinese counterattack they UN and South Korean were pushed back to the current DMZ. Rhee became unpopular with the US and the UN for refusing to agree to a number of peace plans that would have left Korea divided. He wanted to become the leader of a united Korea with UN assistance. He tried to stop any peace plan that would not remove the northern government completely. He also argued for stronger military action to be used against China. He was annoyed because the US would not bomb China.