History of North Korea

The history of North Korea began with the end of World War II in 1945. The surrender of Japan led to the division of Korea at the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the north, and the United States occupying the south. The Soviet Union and the United States failed to agree on a way to unify the country, and in 1948, they established two separate governments — the Soviet-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the American-aligned Republic of Korea — each claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea.