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.
History of North Korea
As negotiations with the Soviet Union on the future of Korea failed to make progress, the US took the issue to the United Nations in September 1947. In response, the UN established the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea to hold elections in Korea. The Soviet Union opposed this move. In the absence of Soviet cooperation, it was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only. In April 1948, a conference of organizations from the North and the South met in Pyongyang, but the conference produced no results. The southern politicians Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik attended the conference and boycotted the elections in the South. Both men were posthumously awarded the National Reunification Prize by North Korea. The elections were held in South Korea on May 10, 1948. On August 15, the Republic of Korea formally came into existence. A parallel process occurred in North Korea. A new Supreme People's Assembly was elected in August 1948, and on September 3 a new constitution was promulgated. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed on September 9, with Kim as Premier. On December 12, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea to be the "only lawful government in Korea".