Editing Korean reunification (section)

==Background==
{{Main|Division of Korea|Korean War}}
The current division of the Korean Peninsula is the result of decisions taken at the end of [[World War II]]. In 1910, the [[Empire of Japan]] [[Korea under Japanese rule|annexed Korea]] and ruled over it until its [[Surrender of Japan|defeat]] in World War II. The Korean independence agreement officially occurred on 1 December 1943, when the United States, China, and the United Kingdom signed the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo Declaration]], which stated: "The aforesaid three powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent". In 1945, the [[United Nations]] developed plans for trusteeship administration of Korea.<ref name=CN-MP-X-CPDPRK>{{cite news|last=O'Shaughnessy|first=Brig Gen Karlynn Peltz|title=The Economic implications of Korean reunification|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA414229.pdf|accessdate=5 March 2024}}</ref><ref name=CN-MP-X-CPDPRK2>{{cite news|last=Ballard|first=Barclay|title=The Economic implications of Korean reunification|url=https://www.worldfinance.com/special-reports/the-economics-of-korean-reunification|accessdate=5 March 2024}}</ref>

The division of the peninsula into two military occupation zones was agreed: the [[Soviet Civil Administration]] in the North and the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea]] in the South. At midnight on 10 August 1945, two army lieutenant colonels selected the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]] as a dividing line. [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese troops]] north of the line were to surrender to the Soviet Union, and the troops south of the line would surrender to the United States.<ref name=CN-MP-X-CPDPRK/>

The partition was not originally intended to last long, but [[Cold War]] politics resulted in the establishment of two separate governments in the two zones in 1948, and rising tensions prevented co-operation. The desire of many Koreans for a peaceful unification was dashed when the [[Korean War]] broke out in 1950.<ref>Ch'oe, Yong-ho, Bary William Theodore. De, [[Martina Deuchler]], and Peter Hacksoo. Lee. Sources of Korean Culture: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century. Vol. 2. New York: Columbia Univ., 2000. 425. Print.</ref> On 25 June 1950, troops from North Korea invaded South Korea. [[Mao Zedong]] encouraged the confrontation with the United States<ref>{{cite web | last=Boose | first=Donald Jr. |title=The Korean War Revisited |publisher=Vincent Ferraro, Resources for the Study of International Relations and Foreign Policy |year=1998 |url=https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/korrev.htm |access-date=10 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302024548/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/korrev.htm |archive-date=2 March 2013}}</ref> and [[Joseph Stalin]] reluctantly supported the invasion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lankov |first=Andrei | author-link = Andrei Lankov|title=Stalin had direct impact on Korea in 1945-53 period |newspaper=[[The Korea Times]] |date=16 May 2012 |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/issues/2012/12/363_111125.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609221954/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/issues/2012/12/363_111125.html |archive-date=9 June 2016 }}</ref> After three years of fighting, which involved both Koreas, China and [[United Nations]] forces led by the US, the war ended with an [[Korean Armistice Agreement|armistice agreement]] at approximately the same boundary.