The Korean War Many Historians argue if the Korean War was a limited war or not.

Depending on the point of view, the Korean War can be seen as many different types of war. For one party, it can be a total war, for another party, it might not even be seen as a war at all. The Korean War was a limited war for some parties involved, but not all. The Korean War was viewed as a limited war by two parties, The United States and China. For the US, the Korean War is seen as a limited war to them because the US did not use all of their resources to stop the North Koreans, namely the atomic bomb. For example, in October 1950, during the push to the Yalu River when MacArthur was still general, According to Moran, MacArthur thought that American nuclear weapons would deter China from intervening in Korea no matter what. (Moran 73-74) However, no atomic bomb was dropped and China proceeded to invade North Korea. This shows that America did not use there resources to finish this war, and along with political influence caused by peace negotiations during the later part of the war, makes this war a limited war for the US. For China, The Korean War is seen as a limited war to them because, first off, they did not declare war and they did not use any troops other than the volunteers they have sent. For example, in October 1950, when North Korea was about to be taken over by the US- South Korean army, China sent in troops that claimed to be volunteers, pushing opposing forces back to the 38th parallel. They called themselves volunteers so the PRC could officially disavow responsibility. (The Korean war) This shows that even though they are Chinese troops, because they are volunteers, China can say that the volunteers planned the attack and not China itself. This shows that China does not want to be fully involved in this war, and along with political

influence caused by peace negotiations during the later part of the war, makes China see this war as a limited war. For the many parties that see the Korean War as a limited war, there are also as many parties that see the Korean War as a total war, North Korea and South Korea. According to Moran, The Korean War is remembered as an example of limited war, unless you are Korean. The Koreans see this war as a total war because of the death count. For example, in 1952, after the war, According to Moran, as many as 3 million people may have been killed. (Moran 83) That is 10% of the total population (83) at the time. In relative terms, During WWII, Europe suffered no worse. (83) By seeing the death count, one could see why Korea would see this as a total war. Some would argue that because the Koreans were working together with other countries, that it could be seen, instead, as limited war, since the Koreans are not using their own power. However, some could say that the Koreans had no power in the first place and needed help from other countries to even fight each other. But these numbers show that is was a total war for Korea. There is one party that does not even consider this war as a war at all, and that is the UN. The UN believed that this was a conflict that needs to be stopped, nothing else. For example, in June 1950, after the initial strike by the North Koreans, the UN came together and voted to take police action (72) in Korea. By calling the sending of UN troops to Korea police action, the UN has avoided declaring war and decided that it was not a war to begin with, but a conflict to stop, making the UN not consider the Korean War a war. By changing the point of view of the Korean War, One could see how this war is many types of wars than just being a limited war. That is why the statement, The Korean War was a

limited war for all parties is false. Rather, it was a limited war for some, a total war for others, and not even a war for one.