List of ambassadors of the United States to South Korea
At the end of World War II, American forces accepted Imperial Japan's surrender in southern Korea, and Soviet forces accepted the surrender of the Japanese in northern Korea. Talks to agree upon a unity government for Korea failed and in 1948, two separate Korean states were created: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The United States established diplomatic relations with the new South Korean government, but did not recognize North Korea. Other countries, like the Soviet Union, recognized the Pyongyang government in North Korea, but did not initially establish relations with the South Korean government in Seoul.
Citizenship in North Korea
North Korea adopted a nationality law in 1963: 15 years after being founded on September 9, 1948. It has since been revised in 1995 and 1999. The nationality law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) governs who is a citizen of the DPRK, and how one may gain or lose such citizenship. It prescribes citizenship qualifications, citizen rights, and citizen protections. While containing just 16 articles, it covers most of the basic features which can be found across modern citizenship legislation in other nations. Furthermore, North Korean nationality law incorporates anyone who resided in the country since the foundation of the DPRK. This includes varied groups due to the DPRK's annexation by Japan and the United States, occupation by the Soviet Union and final surrender to the Allies in 1945. The law assumes that people registered in North Korea became nationals of North Korea.