Aftermath of the Korean War
The aftermath of the Korean War set the tone for Cold War tension between superpowers. The Korean War was important in the development of the Cold War, as it showed that the two superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, could fight a "limited war" in a third country. The "limited war" or "proxy war" strategy was a feature of conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the Soviet War in Afghanistan, as well as wars in Angola, Greece, and the Middle East.
In the aftermath of the war, the United States funneled significant aid to South Korea under the auspices of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency. Concomitantly, North Korean reconstruction was assisted by "fraternal socialist nations:" the Soviet Union and China. In the years immediately following the war, North Korea's growth rate of total industrial output exceeded South Korea's and averaged 39% between 1953 and 1960.[1]
Background[edit]
The Korean War was the first war in which the United Nations (UN) participated outside the Western world. The UN Command in South Korea is still functional.
Around June 1950, the Korean War became an international crisis, as it made communist and capitalist countries around the world go against each other. By the end of World War II, the Soviet Union sought to spread communism to other nations and did so by providing political, logistical, and diplomatic support and assisted in the plans to invade South Korea. The Soviets provided military training for North Korean and Chinese troops.
In response, the United States, fearing that the Soviets would control and spread communism to the entire Korean Peninsula and South Pacific, sent troops into South Korea to support its military forces. Those actions quickly escalated into other countries. The UN supported the south, and China supported the north. Both sides got involved in the conflict.
The war devastated both North and South Korea. Both suffered major damage to their economies and infrastructure, as a result of bombings, artillery strikes and loss of life, including military personnel and civilians.