동북아역사재단 2022년 06월호 뉴스레터
- Geum Bo-un, Research Professor, Institute of General Education, Korea University
Different Names of the War, Proxy War of the Cold War
The Korean War has many different names, such as the ‘June 25th War,’ ‘Korean War,’ ‘War to Liberate the Fatherland,’ ‘Anti-American Aid War,’ ‘Joseon War,’ and ‘Forgotten War,’ as the way or the position in which each side looked at the war varies. In October 1950, when China dispatched the ‘People's Volunteer Army’ to participate in the war, the Korean War was no longer just a conflict between the two Koreas. The Cold War started after World War II led to checks to protect their own sides between the free world and the communist camp. China’s participation in the war meant that the war between the free world and the communist camp had actually begun in the form of ‘support.’ This is why the Korean War is called a proxy war of the Cold War. The fact that the South Korean forces were pushed to Busan by the North Korean forces after the war started can be explained as it took time for the United States to enter South Korea, but the fact that they were pushed back again by the Chinese forces after the recapturing of Seoul shocked the US Army to its core. General MacArthur, the commander of the US Army, could not tolerate this and even planned to use nuclear weapons. They must have had the idea of using nuclear weapons in the war while they were already aware of what nuclear weapons would bring from the experience of dropping nuclear bombs on Japan because the battlefield was not in their country. Of course, the administration, which had a different perspective from the military, rejected this view. The United States decided to end the war because it could no longer afford to ignore the enormous cost and military force invested in the Korean War. The meetings for the armistice agreement started with the proposal of the Soviet Union and the consent of the United States, North Korea, and China. At this time, South Korea opposed the armistice, insisting on mutual security with the United States, and was the only country participating in the war that did not sign the armistice agreement.
Geneva Conference, Revealing International Perspectives on the Korean War
The armistice agreement is a system to manage the process of peacefully resolving conflicts on the Korean Peninsula. As long as the dividing line exists, the operation of the two countries on the Korean Peninsula will be developed under the provisions of the armistice agreement. For this, the 'armistice system' is sometimes assumed when understanding the Korean Peninsula after the armistice. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, the Military Armistice Commission, and the JSA Guard became the main agents in managing the agenda surrounding the division. As the war became internationalized, the post-war period also began to be operated according to international resolutions centered on the United Nations. For this, even now, the three-party talks and six-party talks are mentioned when discussing issues related to inter-Korean relations.
The Korean War as an international war allowed foreign countries to intervene in the Korean society even after the war by managing the agenda related to the post-war division of Korea and defining society. It means that international interests were reflected in the process where the armistice developed into the war's end. If so, what was the position of each country in the Korean War? We can glimpse it through the 1954 Geneva Conference, a political conference held under the provisions of the armistice agreement. The Geneva Conference was a forum for discussion to stop the physical struggle and resolve the war. It was also a place where each country presented its position on the resolution method and ultimately revealed its perspective on the war. In fact, the Geneva Conference was supposed to be held three months after the armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. However, it was held in April 1954, much later than planned, due to conflicting opinions among participating countries. In addition to China, the United States, and North Korea, which actually signed the armistice agreement, the participating countries included South Korea, the Soviet Union, and the allied powers that participated in the war. However, the main issue of the Geneva Conference at the time was not the Korean War. The agenda related to the war between France and Vietnam, which took place on the Indochina Peninsula, drew more attention, making the Korean War a ‘forgotten war.’ The Geneva Conference was the last step to end the war, although procedurally. However, the conference's failure was also foreseen due to the differences in the positions of the participating countries and the offering of mutually unacceptable proposals.
Korea: Insisted on Ending the War through Force
South Korea refused to participate until even eight days before the conference but decided to participate after consulting with the United States and receiving their promise to support the reinforcement of the ROK military. However, this was not active participation in the Geneva Conference and consent to its purpose. Instead, South Korea explained the meaning of participating in the conference, “If the conference fails, the United States will realize that negotiation with the communists is futile and dangerous and drive the communists out of the Korean Peninsula together with South Korea.” It was saying that South Korea is participating in the conference to prove the meaninglessness of negotiations. The Korean government's lack of will to resolve the war politically was also reflected in their agenda; they insisted only on the unilateral concessions of the communist side, such as holding free elections under UN supervision only in North Korea and withdrawing Chinese troops before the election. The South Korean government also advocated for an end to ceasefire and resumption of the war in a speech to the US Congress after the Geneva Conference ended, but to no avail.
North Korea: Restrictions on International Intervention and Inter-Korean Elections
North Korea also opposed South Korea's proposal and advocated the ‘All Joseon Committee,’ composed of representatives of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, South Korea's National Assembly, and representatives of social groups from North and South Korea. They suggested that a draft general election law will be drafted, and economic and cultural exchanges between the two Koreas will be promoted through the committee. In addition, they proposed that foreign countries should agree on guaranteeing peaceful development and reunification of the Korean Peninsula along with the withdrawal of the US and Chinese forces. Near the end of the talks, North Korea proposed a final agreement, which also included provisions restricting foreign intervention in Korean Peninsula issues, such as the abolition of defense treaties with foreign countries. It also mentioned disarmament, such as reducing the number of South and North Korean troops to less than 100,000.
The United States: Maintaining Division and Checking China
The United States also did not have a strong will to resolve the armistice through the Geneva Conference. This was because they pursued the Cold War order and the Containment Policy toward China in Northeast Asia. It was also because reaching an agreement at the Geneva Conference could be seen as acknowledging the status of China, which emerged on the international stage for the first time since victory in the Chinese Civil War. The United States viewed China's participation in the Geneva Conference negatively and refused to engage in direct talks with China during the conference as much as possible. Nevertheless, the United States persuaded South Korea to participate in the conference because they feared that the blame for the failure of the conference would fall on the United States for not involving South Korea, the main body of war, should the conference fail.
Basically, the United States held the same position as South Korea. However, while South Korea insisted on the withdrawal of Chinese forces only, the United States suggested that the United Nations forces would also withdraw if the Chinese forces withdrew first, because China can quickly intervene in the war because of its geographical proximity when a crisis re-occurs, while the UN forces could not. When these proposals did not reach an agreement, the United States finally made three proposals: the absorption of the North Korean government into the South Korean government, the formation of a new legislative branch and executive branch through universal suffrage, and the election of representatives of the Constitutional Council to form the state and government through inter-Korean general elections. However, it was an alternative that the communist camp could not accept as it did not recognize the existing governments in a situation where North Korea had already established a government and was running a state.
China: Securing International Status and Power in Asia
China actively participated in the Geneva Conference to raise its international status and promote external stability for its domestic economic recovery. This is reflected in China's 'Peaceful Coexistence Theory,' which assumes the US agenda as a strategy to 'make Asians fight each other' and, in response, makes peace its agenda. Also, China used the Geneva Conference to show the international community China's peace-oriented foreign strategy. China tried to dispel the aggressive image developed through its participation in the Korean War by insisting on the simultaneous withdrawal of both armies to alleviate South Asian countries’ concerns about the expansion of China’s hegemony over them with the 'Peaceful Coexistence Theory.' In addition, China wanted to break the solidarity between the United States and Europe through the peaceful coexistence strategy. In other words, it was intended to improve relations with European countries so that Europe would not cooperate with the United States’ containment of China. It suited European countries' interests because they needed to trade with China to concentrate on post-war recovery and domestic economic development after World War II.
Allied Powers: Checking Powers between Countries
Differences in positions within the allied powers also began to emerge. The UK regarded the discussion on the reunification plan for the Korean Peninsula as “an ideal beyond reality” and recognized that it was important to come up with a plan to maintain the division of the Korean Peninsula and establish peace. However, their intent contained the expansion of US power at the base of this peacekeeping theory. It was for this reason that the UK insisted on the participation of India, which had a different opinion from the US, and supported China's accession to the UN.
Australia and New Zealand insisted on the simultaneous withdrawal of both troops and insisted that a general election should be held for the entire Korean Peninsula even if South Korea had to make concessions. The Philippines proposed that the South and North Korean representatives form a ‘Constitution Enactment Committee’ to study unification measures.
War Forgotten and Ceasefire Remains
After France's defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu during the Geneva Conference, the interest of the Geneva Conference participants gradually shifted away from the issue of the Korean Peninsula. In the end, the United States decided to stop the Geneva Conference. The conference ended without any conclusion on June 15, 1954, as the United States rejected the final proposal by North Korea. The agenda quickly shifted to the Indochina issue, and the Korean War was forgotten. The Korean Peninsula, the battlefield where inter-national interests were applied, and the proxy war of the Cold War was fought, was left with problems such as the restoration of destroyed spaces and economies, soldiers who became unemployed, and children who lost their parents. Above all, the ‘armistice system,’ which is the closest but unreachable and constantly needed to be aware of even in peacetime, became a condition that affected the entire Korean Peninsula society perpetually.
동북아역사재단이 창작한 '한국전쟁을 바라보는 서로 다른 시선' 저작물은 "공공누리" 출처표시-상업적이용금지-변경금지 조건에 따라 이용 할 수 있습니다.
