Prelude to war? The repatriation of Koreans from the Chinese PLA, 1949–50

Abstract

In 1949 and 1950, three ethnic Korean divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) returned to North Korea. While some historians have cited their return in terms of Chinese and Soviet encouragement for Kim Il Sung's invasion of South Korea, this article argues that this was simply an attempt to enhance North Korea's self-defence capabilities, rather than to invade South Korea. The rationales behind the Soviet and Chinese decisions are analysed here. The Soviet Union's viewpoint will be explained, taking into account the high degree of tension on the Peninsula in early 1949. The Chinese perspective will be examined vis-à-vis the close Sino-Korean relationship, China's domestic economic pressures, and requests by the Korean soldiers themselves. Furthermore, this paper argues that at no time did North Korea dispatch troops to Northeast China in order to help Chinese communists in the Chinese Civil War, showing the limits of both reciprocity and fraternal socialism in the Sino-North Korean relationship.