After World War II, capitalist countries had tense relations with communist countries and ideological conflict spread on a global scale. In an effort to achieve philosophical dominance, Russia and China pressured another communist nation, North Korea, to cross the 38th parallel into neighboring South Korea, a state-backed nation -United. This became a major problem and the United States had to intervene. The war was fought with the participation of many countries. However, in 1953 both sides signed an armistice or treaty to end the fighting. This conflict marked the start of the Cold War and, although short-lived, it had many effects. The main and problematic effect is that the United States is now a sworn enemy of North Korea. And, at the current pace, the North Koreans are moving toward building missiles capable of attacking the United States. Students should be concerned about this global issue because it deeply affects their safety in the United States and will most likely cause problems in the near future. This story of the division of a nation and the ideological differences between them begins in the early 1900s. During this period and beyond, nations around the world were industrializing and becoming increasingly imperialist; especially Japan. With the increasing ability of Westerners to travel long distances around the world, Japan began to feel the power of Westernization and entered a period called the Meiji Restoration. One of the consequences of this decision was to go to war against Russia over the Korean peninsula. This was called the Russo-Japanese War and Japan prevailed, imperialistically making Korea its own. This situation remained until the end of World War II, when Russia and the United States, both fighting against Japan, seized Korea and "[reoccupied] the peninsulas..... . middle of paper......ia of modern Asia. Ed. Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Flight. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 361-362. World history in context. Internet. February 9, 2014.4. (NEWS) MP Quote: Sang-Hun, Choe. "Report says North Korea is improving its missile capabilities." New York Times February 8, 2014: (left). World history in context. Internet. February 10, 2014.5. (NEWS) “North Korea’s Missile Program.” BBC News. BBC, December 4, 2013. Web. March 3, 2014.6. (NEWS) “North Korea Country Profile – Overview.” BBC News. BBC, December 17, 2013. Web. March 03, 2014.7. (NEWS) “North Korea, South Korea hold rare high-level talks. » BBC News. BBC, January-February. 2014. Internet. March 03, 2014.8. (NEWS) “Koreas: a common dictionary aims to bridge the cultural gap”. BBC News. BBC, January-February. 2014. Internet. March 03, 2014.9. (NEWS) “North Korean leader Kim Jong-un welcomes the execution of his uncle. » BBC News. BBC, January-February. 2014. Internet. March 3. 2014.