Soviet troop withdrawal from North Korea (1948)
소련군 북조선 철수 (1948.10–12)
The organized withdrawal of Soviet occupation troops from northern Korea in late 1948, presented by the USSR as a response to the 10 September 1948 request of the Supreme National Assembly of Korea for the immediate and simultaneous withdrawal of Soviet and American troops. A Soviet Council of Ministers decree instructed evacuation to begin no later than the second half of October 1948 and to be completed by 1 January 1949; Moscow radio announced on 30 December 1948 that it had been completed by 25 December 1948.
In depth
Background
After Soviet forces occupied northern Korea in August 1945, the Soviet and US occupation zones developed into separate governments. The Republic of Korea was established on 15 August 1948, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed with the formation of its government on 9 September 1948. At the final meeting of the US–Soviet Joint Commission in September 1947, Soviet delegate Terentii Shtykov proposed that both Soviet and US troops withdraw and give Koreans the chance to form their own government; the US rejected this.
The proposal and the decision
In a statement of 19 September 1948, the Soviet Foreign Ministry said that on 10 September the Supreme National Assembly of Korea had appealed to the USSR and the USA for the simultaneous withdrawal of their troops, and that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet had examined it and decided it was time to evacuate Soviet troops from North Korea. The statement recalled that in September 1947 the Soviet Government had proposed simultaneous withdrawal of Soviet and American troops and had repeatedly confirmed its readiness to withdraw at once if the US simultaneously withdrew from the South; the US had not agreed.
The Council of Ministers of the USSR decreed the withdrawal to the USSR of the Soviet troops remaining in North Korea and instructed the Ministry of the Armed Forces to begin evacuation not later than the second half of October 1948 and to complete it by 1 January 1949.
Completion
Moscow radio announced on 30 December 1948 that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from North Korea had been completed by 25 December. A US Army memorandum recorded that on 27 December 1948 the USSR reported complete withdrawal of its occupation forces from Korea on 25 December 1948, adding that there was evidence the Soviets left about 2,000 military advisory personnel and 1,000 security personnel in North Korea; this is a US estimate.
The UN General Assembly resolution on Korea of 12 December 1948 provided, among other things, for a UN commission in Korea to observe the actual withdrawal of the occupying forces and to verify it when it occurred.
Note on dating
The Division of Korea article states without citation that "Soviet forces were withdrawn on 10 December 1948," which conflicts with the Soviet decree to complete by 1 January 1949 and with the documented completion date of 25 December 1948 in the Moscow radio announcement and US records. This entry anchors on the documented completion of 25 December 1948 and attributes that alternative date separately as a conflicting unsourced secondary claim. The decree's start deadline was the second half of October 1948, but the actual start date is not fixed in the documents, so the period label rests on that deadline and on the announcement of completion.