The Origins of the Korean War Kim Il-sung’s Intention to Begin the War

This article starts from the hypothesis that the Korean War was a civil war. But it does not exonerate Kim Il-sung from responsibility. The attack on June 25, 1950 was definitely Kim Il-sung’s decision. He tried to overcome the early conflicts during the stage of state building through war. But Kim Il-sung did not begin the war to occupy the whole of Korea with armed forces. He misjudged and thought that it would be possible to communize the whole of Korea through political negotiation with the occupation of Seoul and the detainment of South Korean political leaders. On the other hand, the United States had exact information about he invasion from North Korea and expected it. The Korean War provided a good opportunity to the warmongers, which used it for rearmament. In this respect, the United States is responsible for the strategy of burning everything to the ground in Korea. The primary responsibility for the Korean War must be attributed to Kim Il-sung. However, he needed a scapegoat for his defeat and chose Park Hun-young, his main political rival. The Korean War was not Park's responsibility, although he was not free from strategic failures and extreme leftist adventurism.

keywords: Korean War, Kim Il-sungs intention, civil war, occupation of Seoul, U.S. information, and strategy on the Korean War., Korean War, Kim Il-sungs intention, civil war, occupation of Seoul, U.S. information, and strategy on the Korean War.

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Article Contents

Vol.7 No.3

The Origins of the Korean War Kim Il-sung’s Intention to Begin the War

Abstract

Reference

The Review of Korean Studies