In 1984, the Third World War expanded to the Korean Peninsula as U.S. and South Korean ground forces launched a pre-emptive attack across the 38th parallel to forestall an expected North Korean invasion of the South.

Battlefield AlaskaNeither of the North's longtime allies intervened to halt the attack; the Soviets were hopelesssly on the defensive by this time in Siberia and central Europe, and the Chinese were focused on eliminating what was left of Soviet military strength along the Siberian border. Furthermore, China had previously given the Reagan Administration its assurances it would not interfere in any hostilities between the United States and North Korea.


In these circumstances, it was almost inevitable that the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang would collapse within weeks of the initial U.S.-ROK thrust.