Editing Korean War (section)

===Imperial Japanese rule (1910–1945)===
{{Main|Korea under Japanese rule}}
The [[Empire of Japan]] diminished the influence of [[Qing dynasty|China]] over Korea in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–95).{{Sfn|Stokesbury|1990|p=}} A decade later, after defeating [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]] in the [[Russo-Japanese War]], Japan made the Korean Empire its [[protectorate]] with the [[Eulsa Treaty]] in 1905, then annexed it with the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910]].<ref name="Schnabel1972"/>

Many [[Korean nationalism|Korean nationalists]] fled the country. The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]] was founded in 1919 in [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Nationalist China]]. It failed to achieve international recognition, failed to unite the nationalist groups, and had a fractious relationship with its US-based founding president, [[Syngman Rhee]].{{Sfn|Stueck|2002|pp=19–20}}

In China, the nationalist [[National Revolutionary Army]] and the communist [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA) helped organize Korean refugees against the Japanese military, which had also occupied parts of China. The Nationalist-backed Koreans, led by [[Lee Beom-seok (prime minister)|Yi Pom-Sok]], fought in the [[Burma campaign]] (1941–45). The communists, led by, among others, [[Kim Il Sung]], fought the Japanese in Korea and [[Manchuria]].{{Sfn|Cumings|2005|pp=160–61, 195–96}} At the [[Cairo Conference]] in 1943, China, the UK, and the US decided that "in due course, Korea shall become free and independent".<ref name="Early1943"/>