Gyeongwon Line (1911–1945) on 1 April 1944. After the partition of Korea following the end of the Pacific War in 1945, the Gyeongwon Line was split along the 38th parallel between the stations of Hantangang and Choseongni. The railways in both South and North were nationalised, and the newly established Korean National Railroad took over operation of the truncated Gyeongwon Line, from Seoul to Choseongni; in the North, the Korean State Railway merged its section of the Gyeongwon Line, Choseongni−Wonsan, with the Wonsan−Gowon section of the former Hamgyeong Line to create the Gangwon Line. The line was severely damaged during the Korean War.
Soviet Union in the Korean War both an unreliable and demanding ally and took greater steps to ensure autarky from the USSR in the years following the War. In 1960, China broke from the Soviet Union in an event known today as the Sino-Soviet Split, creating a rift amongst all communist powers which were expected to pick one side of the divide. The North Korean regime, which bordered both countries, successfully navigated the split by playing one power off against the other. It did not firmly align with either power until the Soviet reforms under Mikhail Gorbachev compelled the regime to align with China. This split,