Defending the Homeland: Central Decisions and the Volunteer Army's Entry into Korea

On June 7, 1950, North Korea's leaders appealed to the people on both sides of the North-South divide, calling for general elections to be held across the peninsula from August 5 to 8 and for the peaceful reunification of the country. On June 11, three North Korean representatives traveled to South Korea to deliver an appeal for peaceful national reunification, but the South Korean government arrested them. Meanwhile, under American direction, Syngman Rhee suddenly launched a full-scale armed attack north of the 38th Parallel. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was forced to fight back in self-defense in pursuit of the peninsula's reunification. The Korean War had begun.