Korean Peninsula: History of the North and South division

The division of the Korean Peninsula into North and South Korea is a result of historical events following the Second World War. After the end of Japanese occupation, the peninsula was divided between the United States and the Soviet Union.

This division led to the establishment of two separate states in 1948: the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, supported by the USSR, and the pro-Western Republic of Korea in the south, supported by the United States. These tensions eventually resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 when the North invaded the South, leading to intervention by the United Nations.