United States in the Korean War Union. The United States was still war weary from the disruptive World War II campaign and refused South Korea's request for weapons and troops. North Korea convinced the Soviet Union to supply them with the weapons and support they requested. This decision coincided with the United States withdrawing the last remaining combat troops from South Korea. North Korea saw its opportunity and attacked South Korean forces at the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950 and thus initiating the Korean War. In response to North Korea's invasion into South Korea the United Nations convened to formulate a response. The U.N. demanded
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,