North Korea Established: Kim Il-sung Takes Power
Kim Il-sung had been in the Soviet Union since 1940, leading a Korean battalion in the Red Army. When Soviet forces rolled into northern Korea in August 1945, they brought him along—a 33-year-old officer most Koreans had never heard of. Three years later, on September 9, 1948, he stood as president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Soviets had found their man. South Korea had declared independence three weeks earlier under Syngman Rhee. One peninsula, two governments, both claiming the whole thing. Neither would back down.
May 1, 1948
78 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 1
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en Roma un cónclave de obispos nombra papa a Gregorio VI.
Markgraf Dietrich II. von Landsberg und der Ostmark (Lausitz) gründet das Kloster Dobrilugk.
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