This is the Korean peninsula.
A 1,000 kilometre strip of land that people have been
fighting over for centuries.
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Split into two countries,
it's home to an estimated 75 million people.
25 million in the north,
and 50 million in the south.
But it hasn't always been like this.
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So, how do we get two Koreas?
And why is this area such a flashpoint?
It's all about location.
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Located between China and Russia to the north,
and Japan to the south,
it's a strategic peninsula for a number of reasons.
Like, controlling key trading routes
and as a potential staging ground for attacks.
Not surprisingly, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S.
have all exerted their influence over Korea
at one time or another,
sparking a number of conflicts.
By the turn of the 20th century
- after 2,000 years of primarily Chinese control
- Japan formally annexed Korea in August 1910.
Japanese rule was harsh.
Even today, there's a lingering bitterness toward Japan.
Japan's hold on Korea ended with the Second World War,
when it surrendered to the Allies.
Korea was temporarily split at that 38th parallel,
until an independent and unified Korean
government could be established.
And, in the meantime,
the Soviet Union would control the North,
with the U.S. in control of the south.
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Why the 38th parallel?
Because a pair of pressed-for-time U.S. officers
chose it arbitrarily from a National Geographic map.
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So, the two Koreas were born -
with UN plans for fair and democratic elections for both.
But that didn't happen.
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In the North, Soviet-backed Kim Il-sung
- he's the grandfather of this guy
- set up a brutal Communist dictatorship.
While in the South, the U.S. backed a fierce anti-Communist,
Syngman Rhee, and the U.S. military pulled out.
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At this point, the Cold War was in its third year.
Both leaders claimed sovereignty
over the entire peninsula.
Then Kim - with Mao and Stalin's support
and Soviet arms -
attempted to unify Korea by force,
thus starting The Korean War.
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Northern troops crossed the 38th parallel
and with no U.S. soldiers to help repel them,
quickly cornered the South.
But the Americans came back, leading a UN coalition -
that also included some 26,000 Canadians
- to push the North back.
They did, and advanced,
taking the northern capital, Pyongyang.
This was uncomfortably close for the Chinese,
so, China joined the North Korean effort,
helped stopped the UN advance,
and pushed coalition forces
back behind that dividing line.
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This back-and-forth continued.
And after three years, and more than 2 million people killed,
including 516 Canadians, the war hit a stalemate.
An armistice agreement was signed,
leaving that dividing line pretty much where it started.
A side note:
An armistice is not the same as a peace treaty.
So, technically the two countries are still at war.
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Today, the North and South are separated by this.
A 4-kilometre-wide s stretch known as the DMZ -
- The Demilitarized Zone.
A misnomer because actually
it's the world's most militarized border.
Today, seven decades later, the truce still holds,
but the region is in a chronic state of tension.
North Korea under leader Kim Jong-un
is a nuclear state.
And its ongoing missile launches and nuclear tests
have created what Japan has called
the greatest security threat since the Second World War.
While other countries have nuclear weapons,
North Korea is the only one to
actively threaten to use them against the U.S.
and turn its neighbours into a "Sea of Fire."
In the meantime, China remains North Korea's closest ally.
As its biggest source of aid and trade,
Beijing is arguably the sole guarantor of Kim's regime.
And Russia? After China, Russia is North Korea's
next biggest backer.
And like Beijing, the Kremlin has supported
recent UN sanctions against North Korea,
while also being accused of flouting them.
The fiery and furious exchanges over the past year
between Trump and Kim have ratcheted up tensions,
put the whole world on edge,
and seemingly pushed a solution to the conflict
farther out of reach.
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As for South Korea, 2018 opened with signs of a possible short
term thaw between Seoul and Pyongyang.
Both sides agreed to talks, and the North said it would
participate in the South's Olympic Winter Games.
But, as the past has shown, tempers can flare and talks
can end suddenly with both countries returning
to their old positions.
The geopolitics are obviously complex
and we've glossed over a bit
in the interest of brevity.
For more on the region and how it impacts today
check out our sources
and get complete coverage on: cbcnews.ca.
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