Before The outbreak of the war
After the Japanese occupation of Korea ended in 1945 the 38th Parallel was a boundary line between North and South Korea suggested by Russia and the United States. A strategy used by the United States and Russia to prevent cross border skirmishes was to protect the 38th Parallel. The use of this strategy was authorized by the American General by the name of Douglas MacArthur. Russia and the U.S. were to protect Korea and to supervise the surrender of Japan. After the Japanese colonies in the Korean Peninsula left the country, free elections were scheduled to decide the political leader of Korea. However, Russia did not believe that elections, for a government like the United States, should be held. Therefore, North Korea became a Communist country under Russian influence while South Korea came to be ruled by a federal constitutional republic under American influence.