How Far Did The United States Achieve Its Objectives In South Korea From 1945 To 1948?

According to Yale University historian Richard Whelan, "The U.S. government would probably have been happiest if Korea simply had not existed." Indeed, the problem of Korean peninsula was one of the most complicated issues that United States faced following the end of World War II. On the 15th of August 1945, Japan declared unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers. As a result, Korea was liberated from Japan after being subjugated to colonial status since 1910. Shortly thereafter, the United States acquired sovereignty over the southern half of Korea, whereas the Soviet occupied the northern part of the peninsula. This research will discuss the question “To what extent did the United States achieve its objectives in South Korea from 1945 to 1948?” While the US role in the 1950-1953 Korean War receives significant
President Roosevelt had a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in Washington in March 1943. Roosevelt doubted Korean ability to be independent after a long period of Japanese colonisation. Based on the example of the Philippines, he expected a trusteeship would be the most applicable and reasonable way to sustain American influence. However, Britain refrained to support because it was already huge burden for Britain to maintain its existing colonies. Therefore, the suggestion to maintain another quasi colony was not welcomed by Britain.
After that, the issue of Korea was raised again at the Cairo Conference in November 1943. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek met and resolved to give independence to Korea. Consequently, they announced that “in due course Korea shall become free and independent”. However, the expression “in due course” was vague and inconclusive. The fact that there was neither guarantee of independence nor any clear definition of trusteeship reflected how the big powers were hesitant to clarify Korea's