The 38th parallel divided Japanese surrender responsibilities in Korea under General Order No. 1.
The order directed Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel to surrender to the Soviet commander in the Far East. Japanese forces south of the line were ordered to surrender to the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific.
General Order No. 1 was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on August 17, 1945. General Douglas MacArthur issued it after Japan’s surrender, and Japanese Imperial General Headquarters transmitted it to the armed forces on September 2.
The temporary surrender boundary became the basis for the postwar division of Korea into Soviet- and American-occupied zones. That division hardened after 1945 and eventually contributed to the creation of North Korea and South Korea, with the Korean War beginning in 1950.