North KoreaA Brief History

Formation

• August 9, 1945- Soviet Military Occupies Northern Korea

• What important event was wrapping up?• WWII- War in the Pacific• 38th parallel• Plan: 3 year trusteeship- Soviet Union North/

United States South

Kim Il- Sung

• Returns to North Korea August 1945• After 26 years in exile in China• Est. the Korean Peoples Army– Aligned with Communist party– Using S.U. advisers and

equipment

1948• U.N- supposed to hold elections to reunite

Korea• S.U- Communist• U.S- anti- communist• New Plan by 1949

- South Korea declared: Republic of Korea- North Korea: The Democratic People Republic of

Korea- Kim as premier

Communist Dictatorship

• 1949- 90% of industry under state control• 1958- all major farming carried out collectively• Focus was on building military, not

industrialization

Korean War 1950-1953

• 1949- U.S had withdrawn mostly from S.Korea• 1949- Kim sought backing of S.U and China to

unit Korea– Stalin rejected at first but changed with china• Why hesitate?

– Mao Zedong promised troops and military support• 2 ½ year stalemate on 38th parallel• Result?

Post- War

• S.U and China assisted in rebuilding• Kim practiced Stalinism and Cult of

Personality– What is the Cult of Personality?

• Relations with S.U weakened• Extremist actions:– Elevated status of Marx, Lenin, Hitler,

Mao, Stalin– Rewrite history– 30,000 imprisoned for trivial offenses

North Korea Balancing

• S.U and China– Lean toward China• WHY?

– Eventually strained with both.• WHY?

– Oct. 1964- PRC exploded first atomic bomb– Refused to give information and tech to N.Korea– S.U in 1963 refused to give N.Korea missiles

1964

• S.U – under new leadership gives $4.8 million in military aid

• N.K leans toward China• Vietnam Opportunity in Late 1975– Vietnam war is heating up, wants to invade

S.Korea again– China and S.U say NO

Economic Trouble

• Not self sufficient• No consumer goods• Little to no reforms• U.S.S.R falls in 1991• China only major ally left

Survival

• 26 million people– 2003- 13million suffered from malnutrition

• 2001- received $300 million in aid from U.S, Japan, S. Korea, and U.N.

• Illegal emigration to China– 1997 has increased– Sent back and killed, tortured, or sent to

reeducation camp

Present Day

• China tried to mentor• 2004 invested $200million dollars• Trying to help them enter economy to market

forces

Threat

• Why?– Weapons– Economic need– Cult of Personality– Censorship– Fear