The establishment of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) in 1948 as separate states and the division of the Korean Peninsula they demonstrated the failure of the Allied Forces' agreement to govern Korea multilaterally after defeating Japan and to give that country independence "in due course." During the various conferences that took place between the Allies between 1943 and the end of the Second World War, both the United States and the Soviet Union had formally recognized that the creation of two separate states in the two zones of occupation was not a solution permanent and that the establishment of two separate states in the two zones of occupation was not a permanent solution. of a united government for Korea was the official commitment of the two occupying powers. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army invaded South Korea and in doing so created one of the defining moments in the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that increased existing tensions between the two countries known as “The Cold War.” This essay will begin by briefly discussing U.S. foreign policy toward Korea during and after the end of World War II and examine the agreements reached between the victorious Allied governments following the defeat of the Axis forces (Germany, Italy, Japan) and will discuss the reasons for the United States' involvement in the Korean War. Significantly, the Korean War was the beginning of a nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia was called by this name after World War II). Although this essay will focus primarily on the policies and actions of the United States government before and during the Korean War, it will inevitably refer to other governments involved in that conflict, particularly the Soviet Union. American policy towards Korea changes… . middle of the sheet ......World Politics 1, n. 02 (1949): 223-232.• Meade, Edward Grant. American military government in Korea. New York: King's Crown Press, 1951.• Roberts, Priscilla. "New Light on a 'Forgotten War': The Diplomacy of the Korean Conflict." History magazine OAH 14, n. 3 (2000): 10-14.• Soon Sung Cho. Korea in world politics, 1940-1950: An assessment of American responsibility. California: Univ of California Press, 1967.• Stueck, William. "The Korean War: An International History". (1997).• Theoharis, Athan. "Roosevelt and Truman at Yalta: The Origins of the Cold War". Political Science Quarterly (1972): 210-241.• Truman, Harry S. Memoirs of Harry S. Truman: Volume Two: Years of Trials and Hopes. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1956.• Weathersby, Kathryn. "Soviet Objectives in Korea and the Origins of the Korean War, 1945-1950: New Evidence from Russian Archives." (1993): 5.