Soviet Union Considered Occupying Busan and Jeju After WWII... "Ambitions Greater Than Known"

Soviet Union Considers Occupying Parts of Southern Korean Peninsula
Also Demands Half of Hokkaido as Soviet Territory

A map marking Busan with a green circle as a region considered for occupation by the Soviet Union immediately after World War II. / Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun website capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] A document has been discovered showing that the Soviet Union considered occupying parts of southern Korea, including Busan and Jeju, along with Hokkaido, Japan, immediately after World War II ended.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 16th, a document was found indicating that the Soviet Union considered some areas in southern Korea as potential occupation zones alongside Hokkaido at the end of World War II.

Professor Asada Masafumi of Iwate University confirmed this fact through documents released online by the Russian Diplomatic Policy Archive.

The document prepared by the Soviet side regarding the division of Allied occupation zones included content suggesting that some parts of southern Korea should be considered as occupation areas. According to a document written on August 27, 1945, by Nikolai Vorokov, Head of the International Law Department of the Soviet Navy Command, the areas listed included southern Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Hokkaido, northern Korea, Busan Port, and Tsushima (?馬, Daemado), stating, "The Navy is interested in managing the following Japanese regions."

A report written on August 29 of the same year by Nikolai Slavin, Special Department Head of the Soviet Red Army General Staff, proposed that the Allies divide Korea along the 38th parallel north, with the Soviet Union occupying the northern part, and that Jeju and Tsushima should be included as separate Soviet occupation zones.

Professor Asada analyzed the Soviet consideration of occupation zones, stating, "The Soviet military wanted to secure all strategic bases that would lead to freedom of navigation in the waters serving as the gateway to the Pacific."

A document dated August 16, 1945, also confirmed that Soviet Premier Iosif Stalin demanded that half of Hokkaido be designated as a Soviet occupation zone to the United States. According to materials submitted on the same day by Alexei Antonov, Chief of the Soviet Red Army General Staff, to Vyacheslav Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, the major Japanese islands were to be divided as occupation zones for the Allies, with Hokkaido specifically allocated to the Soviet Union. However, then U.S. President Harry Truman rejected the Soviet demand.

Professor Asada explained, "It has been known that Stalin's demand for half of Hokkaido showed his greed, but (through documents asserting occupation of the entire Hokkaido) it can be seen that the Soviet military had even greater ambitions," adding, "Stalin only conveyed part of this to the United States."