The 38th parallel divided Japanese surrender responsibilities in Korea under General Order No. 1.
General Order No. 1 directed Japanese forces in Korea north of the 38th parallel to surrender to the Soviet commander, while Japanese forces south of the line were ordered to surrender to the commander of U.S. forces. The order was issued after Japan’s surrender and helped establish the temporary division of the Korean Peninsula.
The order was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on August 17, 1945. General Douglas MacArthur then issued it to Japanese representatives, and Japanese Imperial General Headquarters transmitted it to Japanese forces on September 2.
The 38th parallel had previously been used as a geographic reference, but the surrender arrangement gave it far greater political importance. Soviet forces occupied the north and U.S. forces occupied the south. The division was initially intended as an administrative arrangement during the postwar occupation, not necessarily as a permanent border. However, separate Soviet and American occupation zones eventually contributed to the creation of North Korea and South Korea and to the Korean War.