After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, Japanese forces occupied several parts of Korea. But it was only after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 that Korea was declared as a ‘Protectorate’ state of Japan, that is, a colony of Japan.
Japan continued to occupy Korea until its surrender in the Second World War.
By the middle of the Second World War, it was widely acknowledged that the future superpowers would be the USA and the USSR. But due to their ideological differences, there was a genuine fear of rivalry between these two nations which could result in another devastating war.
On 6 August, 1945, USSR declared war on the Japanese Empire and on 8th August it began the liberation of Korea. After a number of successes, the USSR took control of North Korea and stopped its troops on the northern side of the 38th parallel.
The United States landed in Incheon a few weeks later and accepted the surrender of all Japanese troops south of the 38th Parallel. The 38th Parallel was declared a de-militarized zone.
It was agreed by the USA and the USSR that after five years of international oversight, Korea would rule itself as a unified nation. The Koreans were not consulted during the course of this agreement.
This division would ultimately make the Korean peninsula a hotbed of tension and conflict. These conflicts run so deep; they could trigger off a Third World War.
Korean War (1950-53)
Attempt by North Korea to unify the peninsula under its control. Resulted in an ceasefire in 1953 which, more or less, divided the Peninsula along the original 38th Parallel.
Unification
Both North Korea and South Korea want to unify the Korean peninsula into one entity. But either side will not accept the terms of the other. Anti-communist and anti-North Korean sentiments run strong in South Korea and vice versa.
North Korea is ruled by Kim Jong-il and is still communist, whereas South Korea is a democracy.
The North Korean economy is virtually non-existent and stands at $40 billion, whereas the South Korean economy stands at a massive $1.114 trillion.
North Korea is suspected of developing nuclear weapons and supplying rogue states like Iran with nuclear capabilities. This has the South worrying deeply.
North Korea more often than not, especially in the last few years, has threatened to go to war with South Korea. Many think that this newfound sense of bravado indicates hat the North already has nuclear weapons.
The new space program of North Korea could possibly provide it with the scientific platform to develop Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. A very worrying thought indeed.
It has always been believed that the Korean peninsula would be one of the first nuclear battlegrounds of the world.
If North and South Korea went to war, the United States (and, in turn, NATO) would be obliged to help South Korea. Considering the ties between North Korea, Iran and China, it would be inevitable that the United States would have to confront China or Iran if it wanted to directly intervene in the conflict. This could easily spiral out of control, leading to cataclysm.