North Korea in the Korean War
North Korea was the main aggressor in the Korean War. It invaded South Korea by crossing the 38th parallel by surprise. They were pushed back but with the help of China and the Soviet Union, they held their ground. There were points where it seemed they were so close to winning and so close to losing. Their leader Kim Il Sung wanted to unite all of Korea under communism thus the surprise attack on South Korea. They ignored pleas from the UN Security Council to stop their attacks on South Korea. As US sent troops to aid South Korea, North Korea received help from China and the Soviet Union who gave them supplies and troops. Even though they were asked to stop by the UN Security Council, they refused to listen. This resulted with the US entering the war. They were pushed back near China's border and that also resulted in China's interference. They managed to push back UN forces back to South Korea and the battle raged on for a long time. After three years, an agreement was reached even though they never settled everything officially.
Implications:
If North Korea left South Korea alone, then the Korean war probably wouldn't have happened or escalated as far despite the tension between the two. Obviously, they played a big part. They lost many of the soldiers just like their enemies and were so close to losing until China came in and helped them. Without its allies, North Korea was sure to have lost. I do give them credit for putting up a fight even at times when they were so close to losing.