Why and How Korea got Split
Why did Korea get split? Tomas Pueyo’s account of the events leading to the division of Korea reads like a thriller (except it is real and tragic). In thriller/ movie style, he posts a pic from the Yalta conference in Feb, 1945 with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in it and says it all started there… At this point, it is a foregone conclusion that Germany will be defeated. The question is not “if” but “when”. But in the Pacific, against Japan, the war is showing no signs of ending. The US asks the USSR to join the war against Japan, but Stalin stalls: he will join, he says, 3 months after Germany falls . “This would end up determining the future of Korea, but none of them knew it at the time.” Germany surrenders on May 8 th , 1945. That means the USSR will declare war on Japan on August 8 th . This should be good news for the Americans. Except that on July 16 th , the US acquires the atomic bomb. They don’t need Stalin anymore, no need to split the spoils of Asi...