Korea was divided at the 38th parallel in 1945 when the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily split the peninsula to oversee the surrender of Japanese forces. The occupation hardened into two rival states by 1948: the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea under Kim Il Sung in the north, built as a one-party planned economy, and the United States-backed Republic of Korea under Syngman Rhee in the south, which after decades of authoritarian rule under a presidential system moved toward a market economy and competitive multiparty elections. The 1950-1953 Korean War ended only in an armistice, not a peace treaty, and the division has never been formally resolved.
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North Korea's existence as a separate state originates directly in the 1945 division of the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.
Source Division of Korea (U.S. Department of State)
South Korea's existence as a separate state originates directly in the 1945 division of the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.
Source Division of Korea (U.S. Department of State)
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1. Division of Korea (U.S. Department of State)
U.S. Department of State, Office of the HistorianKorean War milestone summary
During World War II the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea at the 38th parallel in order to oversee the removal of Japanese forces.
Korean War and Japan's Recovery section, para. 2
the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea at the 38th parallel in order to oversee the removal of Japanese forces.
View the Source 2. Division of Korea (Wikipedia)
Lead section, opening sentence
The division of Korea or the partition of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945
World War II section, occupation zone paragraph
On 10 August 1945 two young officers - Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel - were assigned to define an American occupation zone.
In Group: Independence, Partition and Dissolution of States, Lead paragraph
The division of Korea or the partition of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone in the north and a US occupation zone in the south.
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