Truman Orders Military Support for South Korea

In 1949, the Soviet Union tested an atomic weapon and the Chinese Communist Party took power on the mainland. An American policy review completed in April 1950 called for a stronger effort to contain Soviet power. Fighting in Korea accelerated the adoption of those recommendations. [1]

South Korean troops were facing invasion from the north when Harry Truman ordered American air and naval forces to support them on 27 June 1950. The United Nations Security Council had demanded a withdrawal to the 38th parallel. The attackers were still advancing. [2]

Truman viewed the invasion as part of a wider Communist threat, and his response extended across Asia. In the same announcement, he sent the Seventh Fleet to prevent an attack on Taiwan, reinforced the Philippines, and accelerated military aid to French forces in Indochina. [2]

The United States fought under United Nations authority, coordinating its decisions with the other countries supplying troops. By late 1951, the armies were locked in costly fighting near the old dividing line while negotiations dragged on. The intervention preserved South Korea and made its security a continuing American commitment; the peninsula remained divided. [1]

The State Department coordinated American choices with the governments contributing troops and dealt with Syngman Rhee's administration in Seoul. [1]

Related Diplomats

1. Chang Myon [3] [4] [5] [6]

Related Reading

• South Korea and the United States