Gyeongui Line (1904–1945)
Following Japan's defeat in the Pacific War and the subsequent partition of Korea, the Gyeongui Line was divided at the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. On 25 August 1945, the Soviet Army began operating trains on the line north of Sariwon, whilst trains in the south terminated at Gaeseong. In 1946, the railways in both North and South were nationalised, creating the Korean National Railroad in the South and the Korean State Railway in the North. After the Korean War, the Gyeongui Line was split into three sections. In the South, the Seoul–Jangdan section became the KNR's Gyeongui Line, retaining the same name; in the North, the Bongdong–Pyeongyang section became the P'yŏngbu Line, whilst the Pyeongyang–Sinuiju section became the P'yŏngŭi Line.
Soviet Union in the Korean War
In effect, Zhang Xiaoming argues that the Chinese came to feel that the Soviet Union was both an unreliable and demanding ally and took greater steps to ensure autarky from the USSR in the years following the War. In 1960, China broke from the Soviet Union in an event known today as the Sino-Soviet Split, creating a rift amongst all communist powers which were expected to pick one side of the divide. The North Korean regime, which bordered both countries, successfully navigated the split by playing one power off against the other. It did not firmly align with either power until the Soviet reforms under Mikhail Gorbachev compelled the regime to align with China.