Essay about American Foreign Policy in South Korea

Plan of Investigation This investigation explores the question â€Å"To what extent did the American foreign policy in southern Korea before the outbreak of the Korean War contribute to North Korea’s decision to invade the South?† To assess the degree of success to which the policy affected the communists’ decision to invade the South, various U.S. documents, especially the official U.S. government policy documents on Korea, will be evaluated for their effectiveness, as well as role of their role in Korea. This investigation will not only examine the extent to which the policies contributed to the invasion, but also consider the role of internal problems of the South and the military strengths of the North. This investigation will span the†¦show more content†¦Although the intent was to keep the armed forces of South Korea well trained against a possible war, poor U.S. military aid and use of U.S. advisors were not enough to keep its forces and eventually, they were under-tra ined and under-supported (Cumings 6). In the National Security Council report of 2 April 1948, The Position of the U.S. with Respect to Korea, American government extended the aid, training, and equipping the Korean armed forces only with an intent to keep its forces â€Å"capable of protecting the security of South Korea against any but an overt act of aggression by North Korean or other forces† (Tucker 808). The Truman administration at the time believed that the South Korean President Syngman Rhee, who was known for constantly threatening the U.S. with â€Å"bukgin† slogans (march north), might use the heavy weapons to unify Korea by force, creating tensions between neighboring nations such as the USSR. This led American government decision to keep South Korea in check by keeping its military capability as minimal as possible (Leckie 36). By early 1950, the army of South Korea numbered only 60,000 with actual combat capabilities outShow MoreRelatedKorean War : The C old War1598 Words   |  7 Pagesdue to their ideological differences after World War II, in the midst of the Cold War was the Korean War. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, a border between South and North Korea, to attack South Korea. The size of the war quickly grew as it began to involve countries like China, Soviet Union, and the United States. 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