The major benefit is that the US tilts the table in favor of the client state. One reason for its economic success is the American grand strategy of maintaining a long-term commitment to defend South Korea.īut a strategic relationship with the US carries with it both benefits and risks. South Korea has emerged as one of the major industrial powers in the world.
#Strategic war map korean war full
The peninsula is divided into two states - one with the full support of the US, the other at the moment in a much more complex relationship with China, its traditional patron. This set of dynamics created the current situation in Korea. But the Korean War showed that, while it is possible to drive the enemy back, it is not possible to simply wipe it out.Īnother reason is the strategic reality that no major regional power can afford to allow the peninsula to fall into the hands of a hostile power. It is also covered with very rugged hills.Ī relatively small force, using the rugged terrain cleverly, can hold off a larger force, retreating slowly and inflicting casualties on the attacker, who has to come out from under cover.ĭuring temporary positions of surprise or imbalance, it is possible to drive the defender back. It is narrow - about 200 miles wide at its narrowest - and about 500 miles long. One of the main reasons was the terrain of the Korean Peninsula. War, however, was extremely difficult to wage on the Korean Peninsula.
Truman's decision, made in a weekend, created modern northeast Asia by making the US the guarantor of South Korean national security.
But Truman calculated that Korea's strategic position would protect Japan, and defending South Korea would make clear that the US would resist open aggression. Technically, Korea was not critical to US national security. President Harry Truman faced a critical decision. The North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950 took the US by surprise: US intelligence had failed to detect North Korea's act of aggression on the ground. Again, it was Korean geography that mattered. The Chinese were similarly concerned about a later shift in American interest and wanted to expel the Americans from the peninsula. They also saw Korea as a threat to Vladivostok should the US regain interest. The Soviets had suffered a defeat in Berlin when their blockade failed because of the American airlift. The US did not see South Korea as a critical strategic asset, but the Soviets and the Chinese saw an opportunity. The Yalta Conference created a four-power joint government in Korea, but that coalition failed, as did a similar joint government in Berlin.Īs in Berlin, Korea was divided - with Soviet troops and their Korean supporters occupying the land north of the 38th parallel and the Americans and their Korean supporters occupying the south. The defeat of Japan in World War II ended Japanese hegemony over Korea. The American presence in Korea was not actually new, though. It simply eliminated one player, Japan, and introduced a new one, the United States. The end of World War II did not reduce Korea's importance.
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