October 19th

On this day – 19th October 1950 – China joined the Korean War 

Korea was divided in two after the Second World War and the defeat of Japan. The northern part of Korea had been liberated by the Soviet Union, while the southern parts had been liberated by the US. Each of the two liberating nations set up a governments in “their” part of the country, and thus a north and south Korea was created. In the summer of 1950 attacked North Korea the south with a goal of reunification. A UN led force got involved on the southern side. China supported North Korea, but they chose to not get directly involved in the war until the 19th of October 1950 when Chinese forces secretly crossed the Yalu River. The Southern forces had pressed the forces from the North up close to the Chinese border and China did not want to have an American friendly government close to their own borders. The Chinese participation turned the war around for the northern forces. After over three years was a ceasefire agreed to by all participating countries and no real change in the relationship between North and South Korea have happened since.