<P> A Soviet - US Joint Commission met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship . Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened . The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South . In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit . </P> <P> With the American government fearing Soviet expansion, and the Japanese authorities in Korea warning of a power vacuum, the embarkation date of the US occupation force was brought forward three times . </P> <P> On September 7, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur announced that Lieutenant General John R. Hodge was to administer Korean affairs, and Hodge landed in Incheon with his troops the next day . The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them . Likewise, Hodge refused to recognize the newly formed People's Republic of Korea and its People's Committees, and outlawed it on 12 December . </P> <P> In September 1946, thousands of laborers and peasants rose up against the military government . This uprising was quickly defeated, and failed to prevent scheduled October elections for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly . </P>

Why is there a north korea and south korea