KOREA, VIETNAM and BEYOND – HOW

THE COLD WAR GOT HOT IN ASIA

 KOREAN WAR 1950-1953
In 1950
The Cold War September
came to Asia 1950 – North
in the hottest way Korea
possible controlled
the entire
peninsula

On 25th June
1950 North
Korean forces
Crossed the 38th
Parallel taking
The Republic of
Korea totally by
surprise
 REASONS FOR INVASION

Il Sung – as leader of North Korea Kim saw an opportunity to re-unite

two Korean nations that had been split at the end of WW2

opportunity was based on his believe that Russia would support him an
Americans had seriously scaled back their military presence in the Sout
 SOUTH KOREA ASKS FOR UN SUPPORT

The USSR loses its chance to veto UN involvement as it is boycott over

Taiwans acceptance to the UN.

UN sends an international force of 15 countries under the command

Of General Douglas MacArthur
 KOREAN WAR 1950-1953

Chinese Forces push the UN troops back to South Korea

and Capture Seoul once again

1952 – UN retake the Capital of Seoul

1953 – UN and North Korea sign a cease-fire agreement

that Places a De-militarized zone along the 38th parallel

5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives in this

 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

fter World War Two, the French in an attempt to hold on to their Empire
eturn to Indochina and force the Vietnamese to accept their authority

et Minh independence movement under Ho Chi Minh have had years

experience fighting the Japanese in a bid for their independence. To ha
efeated the Japanese and to then have to return to French control was n
cceptable

he French find themselves in a bitter war of attrition which they finally

1954 as their main base of operations at Dien Bien Phu is overrun

The battle and French prisoners

 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

1954 – French lost control of Vietnam

1956 – Geneva Peace Conference divided
Vietnam

Communist part to the North Anti-Communist

Gov. in the South
under Ho Chi Minh under Ngo Dinh Diem
 VIETNAM WAR

hi Minhs style of government appeared much more popular to the peop

nam.

United States feared that Vietnam would become completely Communis

AN OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF WAR WAS
would affect the other countries around its borders. (the Domino Theor
NEVER GIVEN BY THE USA
hat became known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964) the US stated t
h Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked them

ress authorizes President Lyndon Johnson the use of American combat

etnam – By 1965 185,000 soldiers are fighting the North Vietnamese ter
 VIETNAM WAR

The war will last until 1

Due to the bad publicity the war recieves in the USA, President N
reduces and eventually removes US troops from Viet

The Last US helicopter leaves Saigon

the South Vietnamese government falls and Vietnam becomes an indep

nist nation
on Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans died in the conflict

d Cambodia will be influenced by Communist success with Cambodia su

ear reign of terror from the Khmer Rouge and its leader Pol Pot
 THE LEGACY OF THE COLD WAR

VIETNAM: The re-unification of Vietnam did not

make it an extremely successful country and
today it is still classified as an LDC. It is
slowly developing again with economic aid
from its old enemy

The Cold War in Asia never saw the mass Spread of

Communism that the USA feared.
 THE LEGACY OF THE COLD WAR

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea has become a very

profitable nation with huge
monetary support from the USA.
It had one of the highest economic growth rates at the
end of the 20th Century.

NORTH KOREA: is a very well armed country (potentially

now with Nuclear weapons) but
continues to suffer from a poor
economy.

A formal peace agreement has never been signed.

Technically this means that a state of civil war still exists