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Causes of the Korean War By: Dylan Foreman After the Japanese gained control of Korea in and made it part of Japan. The Allies defeated Japan in World War II (1939-1945) and U.S. and Soviet forces moved into Korea. Soviet troops occupied North Korea and American troops occupied South Korea. The UN declared that elections should be held throughout Korea to choose one government for the entire country. The Soviet Union opposed this idea …

…Korea. Both North and South Korea claimed the entire country, and their troops clashed near the border several times before the war actually broke out. At the time it was important for the U.S. to remove its last troops from Korea in 1949 and indicate early that Korea lay outside the main U.S. defense line in Asia. The Communists were provoked by Kim II Sung and believed the time was right for military action.