A. U.S. Crimes against the people of Korea are best examined when divided into three chronological periods.
1. First is the period between September 8, 1945 when U.S. troops landed at Inchon to June 25, 1950 when major continuous warfare between the US supported ROK and the DPRK broke out. Offenses in this period are primarily crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.
The most harmful political offense was the artificial division of Korea at the 38th parallel and hermetic sealing of the north, which has almost completely separated families, friends, organizations, communications, trade and commerce, with disastrous social, economic and cultural consequences against the will of the vast majority of the Korean people who until that time were the most homogenous people on earth racially, culturally, ethnically and linguistically. The division of Korea directly caused the repression, war and violence that followed. Most divided families have not seen or talked with each other in 55 years.
Offenses committed involved the systematic murder of masses of people in towns and villages thought to be communist, socialist or sympathetic to the people of northern Korean or the DPRK. There were widespread assassinations in cities and towns of individuals or groups considered leftist, including peasant and labor leaders, writers, editors, professors and intellectuals.
There were large-scale arrests, torture, murders and deaths among several hundred thousand prisoners held in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions. Thousands of political prisoners died in prison, many hundreds spent thirty to forty years, or more, in prison.
There were systematic cross demilitarized zone (DMZ) raids, shelling and assaults by aircraft and helicopters. This conduct was actively caused, supported and condoned by U.S. military and intelligence participation, training and direction. Several hundred thousand Koreans died as a result of these crimes.
http://www.iacenter.org/Koreafiles/ktc_indictment.htm