RAS lecture tonight on 'Revelations from the Russian Archives' regarding the Korean War

Tonight Dr. Kathryn Weathersby will be giving a lecture for the Royal Asiatic Society titled "The Decision on War in Korea: Revelations from the Russian Archives." Anyone familiar with the Cold War International History Project, especially in regard to the Korean War, has most likely come across her Dr. Weathersby's work before, such as this paper. Here is a summary of tonight's lecture:

The decision to launch a full-scale assault on the Republic of Korea in June 1950 brought incalculable suffering to Korea and its allies and continues to shape the life of the peninsula. Yet it was not until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 that records of this fateful decision became available to scholars. Dr. Weathersby, the first Western historian to examine Soviet documents on Korea, will discuss what Russian archives reveal about when and why Kim Il Sung, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong decided to use military force to bring all of Korea under communist control. She will conclude with thoughts about how knowledge of this history can inform our approach to inter-Korean relations today.

More details can be found here. The lecture will be held at 7:30 pm Tuesday in the Residents' Lounge on the 2nd floor of the Somerset Palace in Seoul, which is north of Jogyesa Temple, and is 5,000 won for non-members and free for members.