Question

How did the development of nuclear weapons make the Korean war worse or better

Answer 1

Answer: worse see explanation

Explanation:  Throughout the dramatic invasions and counter-invasions that defined the Korean War the United States retained a ready nuclear arsenal. Supreme and peerless in atomic might even when compared to the nascent Soviet capability, America enjoyed the singular capacity to destroy Chinese war-making capability on a strategic level, and to substantially degrade ground formations at the operational and tactical levels. Despite serious consideration, American decision makers chose to fight to a high-consumption and high-cost war through conventional means rather than employing the unparalleled power of nuclear technology. This choice of atomic non-use set the precedent for an enduring tradition of nuclear restraint that remains in effect today.

Six years after the United States decisively defeated the Empire of Japan with atomic weapons it engaged in another costly ground war in East Asia. From June of 1950 to July of 1953, in a bloody confrontation of competing geo-political ideologies and spheres of influence, America supported its ally, South Korea, against North Korea and its benefactor, China, in an effort to contain the encroaching threat of Soviet-sponsored Communism. Throughout this war of conventional maneuver, the United Nations expeditionary forces suffered two major reversals, lost over 36,000 soldiers, and faced the specter of strategic defeat by ‘Red’ armies without ever resorting to atomic intervention.[1] With the onset of stalemate and armistice in July of 1953, the American-led alliance never decisively won the conflict.

Throughout the dramatic invasions and counter-invasions that defined the contest for control of the Korean Peninsula the United States retained a ready nuclear arsenal. Supreme and peerless in atomic might even when compared to the nascent Soviet capability, America enjoyed the singular capacity to destroy Chinese war-making capability on a strategic level, and to substantially degrade ground formations at the operational and tactical levels. Despite serious consideration, American decision makers chose to fight to a high-consumption and high-cost war through conventional means rather than employing the unparalleled power of nuclear technology. This choice of atomic non-use set the precedent for an enduring tradition of nuclear restraint that remains in effect today.

Answer 2

Throughout the dramatic invasions and counter-invasions that defined the Korean War the United States retained a ready nuclear arsenal. Supreme and peerless in atomic might even when compared to the nascent Soviet capability, America enjoyed the singular capacity to destroy Chinese war-making capability on a strategic level, and to substantially degrade ground formations at the operational and tactical levels. Despite serious consideration, American decision makers chose to fight to a high-consumption and high-cost war through conventional means rather than employing the unparalleled power of nuclear technology. This choice of atomic non-use set the precedent for an enduring tradition of nuclear restraint that remains in effect today.