The Korean War: Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, Communist Comrades and Nationalist Rivals

This article examines the Korean War, rooted in the division between North and South Korea, and profoundly shaped by the power struggles among the Soviet Union, the United States, and China. It focuses on the dynamic interactions and tense rivalries between two of the 20th century’s most influential leaders: the Soviet Union’s formidable leader Joseph Stalin and China’s visionary leader Mao Zedong. The article explores the respective strategic decision-makings by Stalin and Mao regarding the Korean War, setting aside all their other attributes such as the brutal handling of their domestic affairs (Source: Stephen Kotkin, Kotkin 2017, 231-274). Joseph Stalin granted the petition by North Korean leader Kim Il Sung to help reunify the Korean Peninsula by military means. When the defeat of North Korea at the hands of US-led UN forces was imminent, Mao Zedong decided, for its own national security, that China must enter the Korean War.