Impact of the Korean Outbreak

Abstract

The North Korean attack upon South Korea in the small hours of 25 June 1950 (local time) had a notable, though little understood, role in the background to Anzus. For some, especially Percy Spender of Australia, it made the need for a Pacific pact more urgent. It also created a more favourable context for the campaign to achieve such a pact. For others, especially John Foster Dulles and Dean Acheson, it made the need for a Japanese peace treaty more urgent. This, in turn, excited the Australian and New Zealand desire for an American guarantee of their security. The war also highlighted the comparative lack of military preparedness in the USA and Britain and gave rise to major re-armament programmes and reviews of strategy. But it did not alter global priorities.