Diplomacy and propaganda at the outset of the Korean War (1950–1953)

Abstract

The Korean War was a multifaceted conflict in which the interests of the Korean states became intricately intertwined with those of the era’s major powers — the USSR, the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The involvement of these powers in the war, in various forms, diminished the roles of both the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) during the hostilities and in shaping the post-war armistice regime. From this perspective, the diplomacy and propaganda of the USSR, the PRC and the USA had greater significance for the course of the conflict than those of the DPRK and the ROK. This article analyzes the interrelationship between diplomacy and propaganda during the early months of the Korean War, focusing on the cases of the USSR and the PRC (June–July 1950). It examines the diplomatic measures undertaken by the Soviet Union and China at the war’s outset and the accompanying propaganda campaigns. The diplomatic efforts of the USSR and the PRC were aimed at justifying the DPRK’s military actions as defensive in the context of the war that had erupted on the Korean Peninsula, while officially adhering to a policy of non-interference in internal affairs. Concurrently, the Soviet and Chinese press published articles presenting evidence of the South Korean government’s preparations for aggressive war with US assistance. In both countries, mass campaigns were launched in support of the DPRK, which was portrayed as “resisting American imperialism and the Syngman Rhee clique”.

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