Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff. Lauren Vogue obamb here. On June fifty, North
Speaker 1: Korean tanks rolled across the thirty eighth Parallel, the line
Speaker 1: that separated communist North Korea from US backed South Korea.
Speaker 1: As a now declassified US intelligence cable from Tokyo to
Speaker 1: Washington concluded, the incursion wasn't just a mirror raid. Quote.
Speaker 1: The size of the North Korean forces employed, the depth
Speaker 1: of penetration, the intensity of the attack, and the landings
Speaker 1: made miles south of the Parallel on the east coast
Speaker 1: indicated that the North Koreans are engaged in all out
Speaker 1: offensive to subjugate South Korea. It was the start of
Speaker 1: a war that is still not ended a full seven
Speaker 1: decades later. The Korean War, which ultimately would pit the
Speaker 1: U S against China in the first ever confrontation between
Speaker 1: the two superpowers, would claim the lives of an estimated
Speaker 1: two point five million military members and civilians, including nearly
Speaker 1: thirty four thousand Americans. The DT would cease with an
Speaker 1: armistice on July nineteen fifty three, but the Geneva Conference
Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty four failed to produce a peace treaty,
Speaker 1: and the North and South remained tense enemies, and that's
Speaker 1: the way things have pretty much continued. Though. In eighteen,
Speaker 1: North Korean dictator Kim Jong un and South Korean President
Speaker 1: Mun Jaen announced that they would work together toward a
Speaker 1: peace treaty, but after the collapse of a February summit
Speaker 1: between US President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim
Speaker 1: Jong Un, those tensions seemed likely to remain for a
Speaker 1: while longer. In the US, the Korean War is sometimes
Speaker 1: called the forgotten War because it's overshadowed by the conflicts
Speaker 1: that came before and after it, the stirring victory of
Speaker 1: World War Two and the lengthy, painful ordeal of the
Speaker 1: Vietnam War. We spoke with Edward Rhodes, a professor on
Speaker 1: the faculty of the shar School of Policy and Government
Speaker 1: at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, who is an
Speaker 1: expert in American foreign and national security policy. He said,
Speaker 1: modern Americans don't think about it much. Vietnam was more
Speaker 1: traumatic and World War Two was more of victorious. Nevertheless,
Speaker 1: the overlooked conflict has exerted a powerful influence that still
Speaker 1: felt today. According to Rhodes, the war forever changed the
Speaker 1: course of US foreign and national security policy, compelling the
Speaker 1: US to accept a permanent military involvement around the globe
Speaker 1: even in peace time. It also helped drive the creation
Speaker 1: of a vast US nuclear arsenal to deter possible Communist aggression,
Speaker 1: with the threat of annihilation, and a global nuclear arms
Speaker 1: race still continues. All this happened, according to Rhoads, after Korea,
Speaker 1: a nation that had been occupied by the Japanese from
Speaker 1: nineteen ten to nineteen forty five, was split into two
Speaker 1: by the U S and the U S s R.
Speaker 1: After World War Two. He explains, it was a practical matter.
Speaker 1: There were Japanese armies that had retreated into Korea from
Speaker 1: Manchuria and they needed to be disarmed. We split that
Speaker 1: large task with the Soviet Union, with the understanding that
Speaker 1: the Soviets would disarm the Japanese in the north and
Speaker 1: we would do it in the south. But as the
Speaker 1: Cold War developed between the US and its European allies
Speaker 1: and the Soviets, the temporary partition turned into a permanent
Speaker 1: one with the formation of a communist regime headed by
Speaker 1: Kim Eel sung in the north and an authoritarian pro
Speaker 1: American government headed by Sing Man e in the South.
Speaker 1: Each regime saw itself as the real government of Korea
Speaker 1: and its rival as illegitimate. Kim eel sung decided to
Speaker 1: settle the matter by invading South Korea, and in May
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty finally obtained reluctant approval from his patron, the
Speaker 1: Stalin regime. About a month later, Kim launched a surprise attack,
Speaker 1: which initially had devastating results. The South Korean forces essentially
Speaker 1: dissolved the U n Security Council, taking advantage of a
Speaker 1: Soviet boycott of the body, then passed a measure calling
Speaker 1: for member nations to assist the belaggered South Koreans. That
Speaker 1: mandate enabled US President Harry Truman to respond militarily without
Speaker 1: having to go to Congress for a declaration of war.
Speaker 1: Up until that point, the U s hadn't seen South
Speaker 1: Korea as having much strategic importance, a road said, but
Speaker 1: when the North Korean tanks rolled across the border, the
Speaker 1: image that flashed in Truman's mind was that this was
Speaker 1: a repeat of what the Nazis did. His response is
Speaker 1: to stand up, thinking that if we had stood up
Speaker 1: to Hitler early on, the world would have been a
Speaker 1: better place. An outnumbered contingent of UN forces formed a
Speaker 1: desperate line of defense around the only part of South
Speaker 1: Korea not yet captured by the Communists, and managed to
Speaker 1: hold off the invaders for two months. That gave General
Speaker 1: Douglas MacArthur, who had been placed in overall command of
Speaker 1: the U N forces, enough time to make an audacious,
Speaker 1: amphibious landing at Incheon, near the South Korean capital of Seoul,
Speaker 1: on September fifteenth, nineteen fifty, cutting off the over extended
Speaker 1: North Koreans. McArthur's forces chased the invaders back north across
Speaker 1: the thirty eighth Parallel, and by mid October had captured
Speaker 1: the North Korean capital of Kyongyang, but MacArthur, over confident,
Speaker 1: kept pushing the North Koreans back to the Yalu River,
Speaker 1: the border with China. China then responded with a massive
Speaker 1: counter attack of between thirteen thousand and three hundred thousand troops.
Speaker 1: This time it was the UN forces who were driven back.
Speaker 1: A bloody stalemate on the ground developed as the US
Speaker 1: pounded North Korea from the air. MacArthur eventually was relieved
Speaker 1: of his command by Truman and replaced with General Matthew Ridgeway.
Speaker 1: The US abandoned the idea of a total victory and
Speaker 1: shifted to a holding action against the communist forces. Rhodes
Speaker 1: said MacArthur embraced the idea that there's no substitute for victory.
Speaker 1: You beat the enemy and they surrender. But Rhodes explained,
Speaker 1: after the Chinese intervention, quote, We're still in a situation
Speaker 1: where there's got to be a substitute for victory, because
Speaker 1: how are we going to fight the manpower of China.
Speaker 1: There's a realization that we can't fight this war to victory,
Speaker 1: and it's hard for the American people to accept. The
Speaker 1: longer the war stretched on, the more unpopular it became
Speaker 1: back in the US. Many of the soldiers sent to
Speaker 1: Korea or reservists who had served in World War Two.
Speaker 1: Rhodes explained, They've got homes and families and jobs, and
Speaker 1: then they were called up and sent to fight another war.
Speaker 1: There was a feeling that this wasn't fair. Eventually, truman successor,
Speaker 1: President Dwight Eisenhower, ran on a promise that he would
Speaker 1: go to Korea and seek an end to the conflict.
Speaker 1: Actually did that a month before his inauguration in three
Speaker 1: but though Eisenhower had ended the fighting, the Korean War
Speaker 1: still shaped his policies. Rhodes said Eisenhower looked at this
Speaker 1: as the wrong war at the wrong time, using the
Speaker 1: wrong weapons. He reaches the conclusion that with the Cold
Speaker 1: War going on with the Soviets, we have to plan
Speaker 1: for the long haul. We're going to sustain this kind
Speaker 1: of military deterrence. That led to resources being pumped into
Speaker 1: the development of a massive nuclear deterrent that could be
Speaker 1: used to contain the Soviets. Additionally, Eisenhower began attempting to
Speaker 1: form alliances with more and more countries in an effort
Speaker 1: to create a unified front to hold off Communist aggression.
Speaker 1: We also spoke via email with Charles K. Armstrong, the
Speaker 1: Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies in the Social Sciences
Speaker 1: at Columbia University. He said the US was forced to
Speaker 1: take China more seriously as a military power after fighting
Speaker 1: to a stalemate in the Korean War. General MacArthur had
Speaker 1: severely underestimated the Chinese military's willingness to confront the US
Speaker 1: in capacity to fight, leading to a bad route for
Speaker 1: UN forces In the initial months after China entered the war.
Speaker 1: China's participation in the Korean War also consolidated Mao's rule
Speaker 1: and dashed the hopes of sub Americans that the communist
Speaker 1: regime could be rolled back and replaced by Schangkai Shek's nationalists.
Speaker 1: Armstrong said a Mao's willingness to support the North Koreans directly,
Speaker 1: as opposed to Stalin's reluctance, helped solidify China North Korean
Speaker 1: relations and caused the North Koreans to be more distrustful
Speaker 1: of the Russians. For the US, China was seen from
Speaker 1: the Korean War onward as the primary ally of North
Speaker 1: Korea and the primary great power there was an enemy
Speaker 1: of the US in Korea. The Armistice ended the fighting,
Speaker 1: but North Korea, now backed by the Chinese, remained as
Speaker 1: a belligerent enemy to South Korea. The ongoing threat meant
Speaker 1: that U S forces couldn't just withdraw and come home.
Speaker 1: Armstrong notes the North Korean invasion in the emerging Cold
Speaker 1: War convinced American policymakers that the US needed a permanent
Speaker 1: military presence in Asia and Europe in order to contain
Speaker 1: communist aggression. I Additionally, the Korean war helped set the
Speaker 1: table for another even bloodier and more painful future conflict.
Speaker 1: According to Armstrong, Korea led directly to the U. S
Speaker 1: decision to help the French against communist led insurgency in
Speaker 1: colonial Vietnam, and then, after the French defeat, to intervene
Speaker 1: in support of an anti communist regime in South Vietnam,
Speaker 1: which blocked an election called for by the nineteen fifty
Speaker 1: four Geneva Conference that helped set the stage for the
Speaker 1: Vietnam War. Armstrong said the most lasting legacy of the
Speaker 1: Korean War for the US was the establishment of a
Speaker 1: global military presence over the long term and a commitment
Speaker 1: to confront communism throughout the world during the Cold War
Speaker 1: and for Korea in East Asia, ideological and military confrontation
Speaker 1: that has lasted seven decades. That included a U. S
Speaker 1: force stationed in South Korea as a deterrent to North Korea,
Speaker 1: which in turn has a massive array of long range
Speaker 1: artillery and rockets equipped with chemical and biological weapons aimed
Speaker 1: at Seoul. That's in addition to the nuclear weapons and
Speaker 1: ballistic missile arsenal. The Trump so far has been unable
Speaker 1: to persuade the North Korean regime to give up. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Patrick J. Keiger and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio's
Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of
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