Re: "Introduction to the Korean War" by Allan Millett

[<Jhk789@aol.com>]

In a message dated 4/20/2002 3:03:24 PM Pacific Daylight Time, donskil@msn.com writes:


> Convinced that South Korea had reached an economic and spiritual breaking
> point and had been abandoned by the United States, Kim 11sung persuaded
> Stalin and Mao Zedong (with the aid of his Soviet advisers) to back an
> escalation to conventional war in June 1950, the third phase of People's
> War. 


Don,

I was talking about the over-all characterization of the war, not the
question of who initiated the attack. I would be interested in
finding out whether Millet can offer any new info on this too.
But, the important thing I note is his use of words like 
"third phase of People's War." In other words,
the K.W. was not something of a surprise attack which suddenly happened in
June 1950, but rather a culmination of the acute internal struggles
that were taking place in South Korea from the time the US
decided to establish a military government (instead of recognizing
the Peoples Republic of Korea that was proclaimed by the Koreans
soon after the liberation) in S.K. in 1945.

Regards,

John2