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143-651: The precursor ensemble of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera held its first concert 10 December 1909, at the Frimurerlogen ('Masonic Lodge') in Trondheim, with an ensemble of 29 players. Through the 1920s, the orchestra's musical activities were modest, but this changed in the 1930s, with an increase in the availability of better-trained musicians and increased financial subsidies, to allow for increased (though not abundant) pay to

286-659: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on

429-578: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to

572-745: A provisional government called the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea was formed under Kim Il Sung. Conflicts and power struggles ensued at the top levels of government in Pyongyang as different aspirants manoeuvred to gain positions of power in the new government. In December 1946, Shtykov and two other generals designed the election results of the Assembly for the Provisional Committee without any Korean input. The generals decided "exact distribution of seats among

715-426: A line that passed through Pyongyang, far to the north of the front line. The Chinese and North Koreans eventually agreed to a border on the military line of contact rather than the 38th parallel, but this disagreement led to a tortuous and drawn-out negotiating process. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed after three years of war. The two sides agreed to create a 4-kilometre-wide (2.5-mile) buffer zone between

858-644: A local branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence operating under the leadership of veteran nationalist Cho Man-sik . The Soviet Army allowed these "People's Committees" (which were of varying political composition) to function. In September 1945, the Soviet administration issued its own currency, the "Red Army won". As a result of the destruction caused to the Soviet Union during

1001-579: A pirate radio broadcast, alleged the creation of a " Dongjin Republic " ( 동진공화국 ; 東震共和國 ), with Syngman Rhee as president, Kim Ku as prime minister, Kim Il Sung as minister of military affairs, and Lyuh as foreign minister. On 16 August, young officers of the Japanese military in Seoul fiercely protested the decisions of the colonial government. Despite assurances from the colonial government to

1144-459: A prelude to a permanent division of the country. General strikes in protest against the decision began in February 1948. In April, Jeju islanders rose up against the looming division of the country and full-scale rebellion developed. South Korean troops were sent to repress the rebellion. The repression of the uprising escalated from August 1948, following South Korean independence. The rebellion

1287-524: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of

1430-781: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as

1573-552: A resolution on 14 November 1947, declaring that free elections should be held, foreign troops should be withdrawn, and a UN commission for Korea, the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK), should be created. The Soviet Union boycotted the voting and did not consider the resolution to be binding, arguing that the UN could not guarantee fair elections. In the absence of Soviet co-operation, it

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1716-475: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of

1859-713: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,

2002-557: A smaller scale than the Soviets. The racism amongst Americans against Koreans, however, was widespread. In 1946, Colonel-General Terentii Shtykov took charge of the administration and began to lobby the Soviet government for funds to support the ailing economy. Shtykov's strong support of Kim Il Sung, who had spent the last years of the war training with Soviet troops in Manchuria , was decisive in his rise to power. In February 1946

2145-531: A two-front war, as it had in World War   I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as

2288-404: Is scheduled to conclude her tenure as chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra at the close of the 2024–2025 season. In September 2020, James Gaffigan first guest-conducted the orchestra. In February 2021, the orchestra named Gaffigan its new principal guest conductor, with immediate effect, with an initial contract of two seasons. In August 2024, Adam Hickox first guest-conducted

2431-604: The 38th parallel as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea. It was understood that this division was only a temporary arrangement until the trusteeship could be implemented. In December 1945, the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers resulted in an agreement on a five-year, four-power Korean trusteeship. However, with the onset of the Cold War and other factors both international and domestic, including Korean opposition to

2574-604: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had

2717-775: The April 2018 inter-Korean summit , the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula was adopted between Kim Jong Un , the Supreme Leader of North Korea , and Moon Jae-in , the President of South Korea . During the September 2018 inter-Korean summit , several actions were taken toward reunification along the border, such as the dismantling of guard posts and

2860-457: The Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of

3003-689: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of

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3146-502: The Cairo Conference in November 1943, in the middle of World War II , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek agreed that Japan should lose all the territories it had conquered by force. At the end of the conference, the three powers declared that they were "mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, ... determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent." Roosevelt floated

3289-581: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into

3432-853: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and

3575-576: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled

3718-553: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,

3861-695: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to

4004-731: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against

4147-690: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as

4290-537: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that

4433-598: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact

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4576-709: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed

4719-651: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with

4862-579: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded

5005-558: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which

5148-694: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and

5291-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and

5434-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting

5577-452: The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima , but before the second bomb was dropped at Nagasaki , the USSR declared war on Japan . As war began, the Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Forces in the Far East, Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky , called on Koreans to rise up against Japan, saying "a banner of liberty and independence is rising in Seoul ". Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the U.S. government became anxious that they would occupy

5720-543: The only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in

5863-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War   II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered

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6006-443: The " Republic of Korea " ( Daehan Minguk ) formally took over power from the U.S. military, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. USAMGIK was formally dissolved and the Korean Military Advisory Group was formed to train and provide support for the South Korean army. U.S forces started to withdraw in a process that was completed by 1949. In the North, the " Democratic People's Republic of Korea " ( Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk )

6149-406: The 2017–2018 season. She had previously served as principal guest conductor of the orchestra, beginning with the 2013–2014 season. Her appointment as chief conductor occurred in March 2016. She is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the orchestra. In November 2018, the orchestra announced the extension of Chang's contract as chief conductor through the 2022–2023 season. Chang

6292-442: The Allied Powers ended up being in charge of southern Korea from 1945 to 1948 due to the lack of clear orders or initiative from Washington, D.C. There was no plan or guideline given to MacArthur from the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the State Department on how to rule Korea. Hodge directly reported to MacArthur and GHQ (General Headquarters) in Tokyo, not to Washington, D.C., during the military occupation. The three year period of

6435-422: The Allies agreed that the Soviet Union, the US, the Republic of China, and Britain would take part in a trusteeship over Korea for up to five years in the lead-up to independence. This invigorated the Anti-trusteeship Movement  [ ko ] , which demanded the immediate independence of the peninsula. However, the Korean Communist Party , which was closely aligned with the Soviet Communist party, supported

6578-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10   May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent

6721-404: The Americans in the military or the State Department in the Far East in late 1945 even spoke Korean, leading to jokes among Koreans that Korean translators were really running southern Korea. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea , which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them. Likewise, Hodge refused to recognize

6864-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack

7007-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27   May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,

7150-421: The Bodo League's members were innocent farmers and civilians who were forced into membership. The registered members or their families were executed at the beginning of the Korean War. On 24 December 1949, South Korean Army massacred Mungyeong citizens who were suspected communist sympathizers or their family and affixed blame to communists. This division of Korea, after more than a millennium of being unified,

7293-404: The CPKI of minimal interference from the Japanese in their affairs, the military declared that they would firmly punish any unrest, to the protest of the CPKI. On 6 September a congress of representatives was convened in Seoul and founded the short-lived People's Republic of Korea (PRK). In the spirit of consensus, conservative elder statesman Syngman Rhee, who was living in exile in the U.S.,

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7436-405: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and

7579-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed

7722-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6   October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of

7865-417: The Joint Commission in September 1947, Soviet delegate Terentii Shtykov proposed that both Soviet and US troops withdraw and give the Korean people the opportunity to form their own government. This was rejected by the US. With the failure of the Joint Commission to make progress, the US brought the problem before the United Nations in September 1947. The Soviet Union opposed UN involvement. The UN passed

8008-452: The Koreans by the Allies. The general public did not become aware of the division of Korea until around when the Soviets entered Pyongyang. Meanwhile in Seoul, beginning in early to mid August, General Nobuyuki Abe , the last Japanese Governor-General of Korea , began contacting Koreans to offer them a leading role in the hand-over of power. He first offered the position to Song Jin-woo , the former head of The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, who

8151-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War   II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured

8294-417: The North Korean forces back behind the border. However, the North overran 90% of the south until a counter-attack by US-led forces. As the North Korean forces were driven from the south, South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel on 1 October, and American and other UN forces followed a week later. This was despite warnings from the People's Republic of China that it would intervene if American troops crossed

8437-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged

8580-415: The Second World War, the Soviets lacked the resources and will to create a full satellite state in Korea and Koreans enjoyed a higher level of autonomy than Soviet-controlled Eastern European states. The Soviets had brought with them a number of Koreans who had been living in the Soviet Union, some of whom were members of the Soviet Communist Party, with the intention of creating a socialist state. Unlike in

8723-424: The South, the Soviet Union supported the North, and each government claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to re-unify the peninsula under its communist rule. The subsequent Korean War , which lasted from 1950 to 1953, ended with a stalemate and has left Korea divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) up to the present day. During

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8866-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to

9009-421: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and

9152-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed

9295-413: The Soviet Union proposed Lyuh Woon-hyung as the leader of a unified Korea, but this was rejected by the US. Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South. In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit. At the final meeting of

9438-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued

9581-461: The Soviet Union, UN-supervised elections were held in the US-occupied south only. Syngman Rhee won the election, while Kim Il Sung consolidated his position as the leader of Soviet-occupied northern Korea. This led to the establishment of the Republic of Korea in southern Korea on 15 August 1948, promptly followed by the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in northern Korea on 9 September 1948. The United States supported

9724-408: The Swiss and Swedish armed forces have been members of the NNSC stationed near the DMZ. Poland and Czechoslovakia were the neutral nations chosen by North Korea, but North Korea expelled their observers after those countries embraced capitalism. Since the war, Korea has remained divided along the DMZ. North and South have remained in a state of conflict, with the opposing regimes both claiming to be

9867-439: The U.S. Army occupation was chaotic and tumultuous compared to the very peaceful and stable U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. Hodge and his XXIV Corps were trained for combat, not for diplomacy and negotiating with the many diverse political groups that emerged in post-colonial southern Korea: former Japanese collaborators, pro-Soviet communists, anti-Soviet communists, right wing groups, and Korean nationalists. None of

10010-426: The U.S., and a permanent U.S. garrison in the South. As dictated by the terms of the Korean Armistice, a Geneva Conference was held in 1954 on the Korean question. Despite efforts by many of the nations involved, the conference ended without a declaration for a unified Korea. The Armistice established a Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) which was tasked to monitor the Armistice. Since 1953, members of

10153-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking

10296-566: The US, became the most prominent politician in the South. Rhee pressured the American government to abandon negotiations for a trusteeship and create an independent Republic of Korea in the south. On 19 July 1947, Lyuh Woon-hyung , the last senior politician committed to left-right dialogue, was assassinated by a 19-year-old man named Han Chigeun, a recent refugee from North Korea and an active member of

10439-581: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced

10582-542: The United Kingdom attacked on 3   July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in

10725-461: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14   June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which

10868-604: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in

11011-606: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with

11154-493: The area of responsibility of American troops". He noted that he was "faced with the scarcity of US forces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, before Soviet troops could enter the area". To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division. The agreement was incorporated into General Order No. 1 (approved on 17 August 1945) for

11297-461: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding

11440-551: The capital was awash with waves of rumors, some of which may have been spread by Japanese soldiers to distract the public while they prepared to leave the peninsula. On multiple occasions, rumors that Soviet soldiers were about to arrive via rail to Seoul caused either mass panic or, for some left-leaning Koreans, celebration. Even the Soviet Ambassador in Seoul was confused and phoned around to check whether Soviet soldiers were coming. Another rumor, spread both by fliers and

11583-567: The chagrin of Song. That day, Lyuh announced to the public that Japan had accepted the terms of surrender laid out in the Potsdam Declaration , to the jubilation of the Koreans and the horror of the around 777,000 Japanese residents of the peninsula. With a budget of 20,000,000 yen from the colonial government, Lyuh set about organizing the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence  [ ko ] (CPKI). The CPKI began taking over

11726-639: The commission declared that it was "far from satisfied" with the election. Unrest continued in the South. In October 1948, the Yeosu–Suncheon rebellion took place, in which some regiments rejected the suppression of the Jeju uprising and rebelled against the government. In 1949, the Syngman Rhee government established the Bodo League in order to keep an eye on its political opponents. The majority of

11869-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it

12012-526: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of

12155-544: The creation of buffer zones to prevent clashes. On 12 December 2018, soldiers from both Koreas crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the opposition countries for the first time in history. In October 2024, the North Korean constitution was amended to remove references to reunification and labelled South Korea an "enemy state". This was preceded by the destruction of roads connecting

12298-536: The directive to prepare for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Division of Korea#Post–World War II The division of Korea de facto began on 2 September 1945, when Japan signed the surrender document , thus ending the Pacific Theater of World War II . It was officially divided with the establishment of the two Koreas in 1948. During World War II, the Allied leaders had already been considering

12441-757: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War   I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of

12584-434: The elections in the south, as did other politicians and parties. The conference called for a united government and the withdrawal of foreign troops. Syngman Rhee and General Hodge denounced the conference. Kim Koo was assassinated the following year. On 10 May 1948 the south held a general election . It took place amid widespread violence and intimidation, as well as a boycott by opponents of Syngman Rhee. On 15 August,

12727-662: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied

12870-511: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming

13013-575: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until

13156-864: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing

13299-488: The former village leaders were eliminated as a political force without resort to bloodshed, but extreme care was taken to preclude their return to power." The farmers responded positively; many collaborators, former landowners and Christians fled to the south, where some of them obtained positions in the new South Korean government. According to the U.S. military government, 400,000 northern Koreans went south as refugees. Key industries were nationalized. The economic situation

13442-674: The idea of a trusteeship over Korea but did not obtain agreement from the other powers. Roosevelt raised the idea with Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Stalin did not disagree but advocated that the period of trusteeship be short. At the Tehran and Yalta Conferences, Stalin promised to join his allies in the Pacific War in two to three months after victory in Europe . On 8 August 1945, two days after

13585-525: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of

13728-549: The legitimate government of the whole country. Sporadic negotiations have failed to produce lasting progress towards reunification. On 27 April 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Panmunjom Declaration signed by both leaders called for the end of longstanding military activities near the border and the reunification of Korea. On 1 November 2018, buffer zones were established across

13871-481: The loot back home. In addition to looting, Soviet soldiers were accused of rape, although the accusations were inflated in the south by fleeing Japanese colonials. Korean peasants sometimes joined the looting, indicating that the looting was based in class disparities, rather than racial disparities. These abuses lessened after the arrival of military police in January 1946. On the southern peninsula, American soldiers also committed depredations, both rape and looting, on

14014-527: The many poor civilians and agricultural labourers under the people's committees, a nationwide mass campaign broke the control of the old landed classes. Landlords were allowed to keep only the same amount of land as poor civilians who had once rented their land, thereby making for a far more equal distribution of land. The North Korean land reform was achieved in a less violent way than in China or in Vietnam . Official American sources stated: "From all accounts,

14157-597: The military government. This uprising was quickly defeated, and failed to prevent scheduled October elections for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly. The opening of the Assembly was delayed to December to investigate widespread allegations of electoral fraud. Ardent anti-communist Syngman Rhee , who had been the first president of the Provisional Government and later worked as a pro-Korean lobbyist in

14300-560: The musicians, which led to the establishment of the Trondheim Chamber Orchestra. In 1952, the orchestra established the Princess Astrid Music Award to recognize talented young Norwegian musicians, with pianist Kjell Bækkelund as the first winner. This competition continues to this day, held every two years. In 1962, Norwegian Radio (NRK) and the state of Norway formally took over control of

14443-549: The nationalist right-wing group, the White Shirts Society . USAMGIK and later the newly formed South Korean government faced a number of left-wing insurgencies, some supported by North Korea, that were eventually suppressed. Over the course of the next few years, between 30,000 and 100,000 people were killed. Most casualties resulted from the Jeju Uprising . In December 1945, at the Moscow Conference ,

14586-463: The newly formed People's Republic of Korea and its People's Committees, and outlawed it on 12 December. Japanese civilians were repatriated, including nearly all industrial managers and technicians; over 500,000 by December 1945 and 786,000 by August 1946. Severe price inflation occurred in the disrupted economy, until in summer 1946 rationing and price controls were imposed. In September 1946, thousands of laborers and peasants rose up against

14729-623: The north to the south in a bid to "completely separate" the two states. When the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905, Korea became a nominal protectorate of Japan and was annexed by Japan in 1910. The Korean Emperor Gojong was removed. In the following decades, nationalist and radical groups emerged to struggle for independence. Divergent in their outlooks and approaches, these groups failed to come together in one national movement. The Korean Provisional Government (KPG) in exile in China failed to obtain widespread recognition. At

14872-525: The orchestra musicians. During World War II , the Frimurerlogen was renamed the Deutsches Haus , while the country was under German occupation, and the orchestra gave concerts in various Trondheim churches. Following World War II, the orchestra returned to the Frimurerlogen as its resident venue and remained there until 1989. In 1947, the orchestra created its first full-time posts for

15015-480: The orchestra. In 1989, the Olavshallen was completed, and the orchestra relocated from Frimurerlogen to the new concert hall that year. The orchestra currently consists of about 85 musicians, and gives around 100 concerts annually. In 2009, the orchestra started to develop a professional opera and musical theatre department. The orchestra's current chief conductor and artistic leader is Han-na Chang , since

15158-530: The orchestra. In November 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of Hickox as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season. World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and

15301-509: The parallel. As it occupied the north, the Republic of Korea, in turn, attempted to unify the country under its regime, with the Korean National Police enforcing political indoctrination. As US-led forces pushed into the north, China unleashed a counter-attack which drove them back into the south. In 1951, the front line stabilized near the 38th parallel, and both sides began to consider an armistice. Rhee, however, demanded

15444-405: The parties, the number of women members, and, more broadly, the precise social composition of the legislature." The original 1948 North Korean constitution was primarily written by Stalin and Shtykov. In March 1946 the provisional government instituted a sweeping land-reform program: land belonging to Japanese and collaborator landowners was divided and redistributed to poor farmers. Organizing

15587-660: The people of Korea, announcing U.S. military control over Korea south of the 38th parallel and establishing English as the official language during military control. That same day, he announced that Lieutenant General John R. Hodge was to administer Korean affairs. Hodge landed in Incheon with his troops on 8 September 1945, marking the beginning of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). MacArthur as Supreme Commander for

15730-447: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with

15873-589: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of

16016-599: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at

16159-532: The question of Korea 's future following Japan's eventual surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be liberated from Japan but would be placed under an international trusteeship until the Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule. In the last days of the war, the United States proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones (a U.S. and Soviet one) with

16302-722: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,

16445-413: The same parallel. Rusk later said that had he known, he "almost surely" would have chosen a different line. The division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. Rusk observed, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by US forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement ... we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in

16588-473: The security situation in the city and coordinating with local governments throughout the peninsula. However, the organization ended up being composed of mostly left-leaning communists, which infuriated Song even more. Lyuh attempted on multiple occasions to convince Song to join or support the CPKI, but their meetings reportedly ended in angry arguments each time. For the weeks before the American arrival in Seoul,

16731-410: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in

16874-703: The south, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea attempted to unify Korea under its regime, initiating the nationalisation of industry, land reform, and the restoration of the People's Committees. While UN intervention was conceived as restoring the border at the 38th parallel, Syngman Rhee argued that the attack of the North had obliterated the boundary. Similarly UN Commander in Chief, General Douglas MacArthur stated that he intended to unify Korea, not just drive

17017-466: The south, the former Japanese occupying authorities offered virtually no assistance to the Soviets, and even destroyed factories, mines and official records. After the massive loss of troops in Europe, the Soviet army recruited new soldiers, who were badly equipped when they landed in Korea, some even lacking shoes and uniforms. During the Soviet occupation, they lived off the Korean land, and looted Japanese colonials and Korean capitalists, sending part of

17160-498: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed

17303-514: The states, known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This new border, reflecting the territory held by each side at the end of the war, crossed the 38th parallel diagonally. Rhee refused to accept the armistice and continued to urge the reunification of the country by force. Despite attempts by both sides to reunify the country, the war perpetuated the division of Korea and led to a permanent alliance between South Korea and

17446-593: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,

17589-482: The surrender of Japan. Soviet forces began amphibious landings in Korea by 14 August and rapidly took over the northeast of the country, and on 16 August they landed at Wonsan . By 24 August, the Red Army reached Pyongyang , the second largest city in the Korean Peninsula after Seoul. Throughout August, there was a mix of celebration, confusion, and conflict, mainly caused by the lack of information provided to

17732-483: The trusteeship, negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union over the next two years regarding the implementation of the trusteeship failed, thus effectively nullifying the only agreed-upon framework for the re-establishment of an independent and unified Korean state. With this, the Korean question was referred to the United Nations . In 1948, after the UN failed to produce an outcome acceptable to

17875-406: The trusteeship. According to historian Fyodor Tertitskiy, documentation from 1945 suggests the Soviet government initially had no plans for a permanent division. A Soviet-US Joint Commission  [ ko ] met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship. In 1946,

18018-585: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War   II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as

18161-464: The war continue until Korea was unified under his leadership. The Communist side supported an armistice line being based on the 38th parallel, but the United Nations supported a line based on the territory held by each side, which was militarily defensible. The UN position, formulated by the Americans, went against the consensus leading up to the negotiations. Initially, the Americans proposed

18304-513: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising

18447-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which

18590-512: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to

18733-589: The whole of Korea. On 10 August 1945 two young officers – Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel – were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used a National Geographic map to decide on the 38th parallel as the dividing line. They chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would place the capital Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted. The two men were unaware that forty years before, Japan and pre-revolutionary Russia had discussed sharing Korea along

18876-707: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed

19019-554: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to

19162-438: Was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only. This was in defiance of the report of the chairman of the commission, K. P. S. Menon , who had argued against a separate election. Some UNTCOK delegates felt that the conditions in the south gave unfair advantage to right-wing candidates, but they were overruled. The decision to proceed with separate elections was unpopular among many Koreans, who rightly saw it as

19305-409: Was declared on 9 September, with Kim Il Sung as prime minister. On 12 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea to be the "only lawful government in Korea". However, none of the members of UNTCOK considered that the election had established a legitimate national parliament. The Australian government, which had a representative on

19448-413: Was largely defeated by May 1949 and 25,000 to 30,000 people had been killed in the conflict, and 70% of the villages were burned by the South Korean troops. The uprising flared up again with the outbreak of the Korean War. In April 1948, a conference of organizations from the north and the south met in Pyongyang . The southern politicians Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik attended the conference and boycotted

19591-510: Was nearly as difficult in the north as it was in the south, as the Japanese had concentrated agriculture and service industries in the south and heavy industry in the north. Soviet forces were withdrawn on 10 December 1948. With the American government fearing Soviet expansion, and the Japanese authorities in Korea warning of a power vacuum, the embarkation date of the US occupation force was brought forward three times. On 7 September 1945, General Douglas MacArthur issued Proclamation No. 1 to

19734-493: Was nominated as president. Song announced his own National Foundation Preparation Committee  [ ko ] (NFPC) on 7 September to directly counter the PRK. However, the NFPC had a minimal role in Korean politics and ended up aligning itself with the KPG after its return. The Soviets received little resistance from the Japanese during their advance across northern Korea and were aided by various Korean groups. When Soviet troops entered Pyongyang on August 24, they found

19877-403: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign

20020-657: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with

20163-441: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed

20306-451: Was seen as a champion of Korean independence activism within the peninsula. Song refused the position, which he saw as equivalent to the role of Wang Jingwei , the ruler of the Japanese puppet state in China. He instead preferred to wait until, as many expected and hoped, the KPG returned to the peninsula and established a fully domestic Korean government. On 15 August, Abe instead offered the position to Lyuh Woon-hyung , who accepted it, to

20449-418: Was seen as controversial and temporary by both regimes. From 1948 until the start of the civil war on 25 June 1950, the armed forces of each side engaged in a series of bloody conflicts along the border. In 1950, these conflicts escalated dramatically when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, triggering the Korean War . The United Nations intervened to protect the South, sending a US-led force. As it occupied

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