Politics
On August 15, 1945, Soviet forces liberated Korea from Japanese colonial rule as part of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive.
On August 15, 1945, Soviet forces liberated Korea from Japanese colonial rule as part of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive. The Red Army fought alongside Korean patriots against the Japanese military regime, defeated the Kwantung Army, and liberated the Korean people, bringing an end to World War II in the Far East.
The Korean Peninsula remained under Japanese occupation for 35 years. Japan established a protectorate over Korea in 1905 and fully annexed it five years later, in 1910. The Japanese colonial government was extremely brutal, with the aim of exploiting the region’s natural resources and imposing harsh and repressive measures on the local population.
During World War II, the Allied Powers focused on the liberation of Korea. In 1943, China, the United States, and Britain adopted the Cairo Declaration, under which they agreed that Japan would be expelled from all territories it had occupied.
At the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union pledged to enter the war against Japan after defeating Nazi Germany in Europe. On August 9, 1945, the Red Army launched the Manchurian Strategic Offensive and, together with supporters of the Korean national independence movement, broke through Japanese defensive lines.
On August 15, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s unconditional surrender. Today, both Pyongyang and Seoul commemorate August 15 as Korea’s National Liberation Day.
