Doc World

Most Americans assume that hostile relations between the United States and North Korea began when North Korea started developing nuclear weapons.

In actuality, the conflict dates back to the end of World War II, when Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, only to be divided by the United States in one of the first acts of the Cold War.

NEWSCASTER: This is Korea, a nation divided at the 38th parallel.

CHRISTINE: This arbitrary division separated families, entire towns without consulting the Korean people.

And it set the North and South on a collision course, with the emerging governments of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea both determined to reunify the country, by force if necessary.