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Soviet forces invade Manchuria and oust Japanese occupation forces.
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Agreement divides Korea into U.S. and Soviet occupation zones along the 38th parallel. The Soviets held the north and the U.S. the south.
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The communists announce their support of the trusteeship. This intensifies Rhee's anti-Communist rhetoric.
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General Douglas MacArthur's plan for a Korean Police Force is approved by the U.S Joint Chiefs of Sta ff. Pyongyang: Kim Il Sung is elected chairman of the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea.
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The U.S./Soviet Joint Commission is dissolved. The Soviets also accuse General Hodge of bad faith and intentional sabotage of the Moscow trusteeship agreement.
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The U.S. military sets up the South Korean Interm Legislative Assembly that is dominated by Syngman Rhee.
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The U.N. General Assembly proposes removing troops from Korea following supervised national elections meant to choose one government for the whole country. The Soviets opposed the resolution and wouldn't allow election in North Korea.
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The U.S. Military Government relinquishes power to the republic of Korea. The Communist Party in North Korea led by Kim Il Sung, forms the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from South Korea. Mao Zedong proclaimed that the Communists (Nationalists) ruled in Beijing and established the People's Republic of China.
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Early morning, the North Korean People's Army under General Chai Ung Jun, invades South Korea with seven assault infantry divisions, a tank brigade, and two independent infantry regiments. The United Nations Security Council resolution calls for an end to the North Korean aggression. The resolution got passed only because the Soviet Union had boycotted that particular meeting.
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After a year of military provocations by both sides along the 38th Parallel, North Korea sends an invasion force into South Korea. Northern forces overwhelm the ill-equipped defenders and capture Seoul in three days. The United Nations condemns the attack and creates a "police" force to help defend South Korea.
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The United Nations asks member nations to aid the Republic of Korea. Thus, Truman orders U.S. air and naval forces to help South Korea. - The Republic of Korea's army abandoned Seoul on this day also. Seoul was captured by the North Koreans, and the Republic of Korea's army is destroyed. - An explosion destroys the Han River Bridge. - The British Far Fleet is sent to assist South Korea. President Truman orders U.S. ground forces into Korea and authorizes the bombong o
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North Korea Captures Seoul, the South Korean capital.
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China becomes involved in the Korean War.
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U.N. forces capture the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, which sits 90 miles northwest of the 38th Parallel.
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U.S. President Harry S. Truman threatens to use the atomic bomb against the communist Chinese forces. By April 5 of the next year, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered atomic retaliation against Soviet and Chinese bases if more communist troops entered the war.
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The South Korean capital of Seoul changes hands for the last time as U.N. troops recapture the battered city. MacArthur's army advances slightly north of the 38th Parallel
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Because of their disagreement in how to militarily handle the Korean War, U.S. Truman recalls MacArthur as commander of the U.N. forces and U.S. Gen. Matthew Ridgeway is given command.
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Truce talks begin at Kaesong near the 38th Parallel. The talks, led by U.S. Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy for the U.N. side and Lt. Gen. Nam Il of North Korea, drag on with no real agreements on an armistice and the exchange of prisoners. The truce site is moved the village of Panmunjom.
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The war along the 38th Parallel becomes a stalemate reminiscent of trench warfare fought in World War I. The pattern of bloody fighting with no real capturing of territory continues for the next two years as peace talks repeatedly fail.
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United Nations propose to exchange Prisoners of War.
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POW Exchange Proposal rejected by Communists.
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Talks at Panmunjom deadlock and are recessed. U.S. planes bomb the North Korean capital Pyongyang for two straight months and talks are resumed the following March.
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After being elected, Dwight D. Eisenhower travels to Korean to join in the peace negotiations.
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The U.N., North Korea and China sign an armistice agreement, continuing the division of Korea. South Korea refuses to sign. The agreement calls for 2.5-mile wide buffer zone across the middle of Korean Peninsula that closely follows the 38h Parallel.
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Repatriation of POWs begins.
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Diplomats from China, North Korea, and the United States convene in Panmunjom—the so-called "Peace Village" located on the border between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel—to plan a political conference to reach agreement on a final, permanent peace treaty to end the war. Even this preliminary planning breaks down amidst angry accusations and counter-accusations from both sides.
