In this section you will examine the reasons that China was involved in the Korean War. The United States and the Soviet Union were involved in their battle for world political supremacy, which spilled over into Asia. The United States wanted to keep communism from spreading into additional countries while the Soviet Union wanted to increase its power under the Iron Curtain.

Click on the flag of communist China below to find out China's military objective in the Korean War:

China's main objective in the Korean War was to keep the hostile American forces away from the Yalu River. In order to do that, China needed to have a buffer zone near its border on the North Korean side. It would be even better if China could drive the US forces out of North Korea or even the entire Korean Peninsula and stabilize the North Korean communist regime. For these reasons China entered the war on the North Korean side.

Click on the map to see the area that China wanted to keep from the American forces:

In your notes, answer the following question based on the map above:

"Why is the Yalu River important to the Chinese? Why would they want to keep foreign troops from invading that area?"