Author’s note: This is a revision of “Operation Dragon’s Breath.”

As a result of misinformation indicating that [China was behind the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternateHistory/comments/1ns5767/the_assassination_of_kim_ilsung_fallen_kingdom/), China launched a military invasion of North Korea following a failed attempt by Kim Il-Sung's successor Lee Jong-Moon to invade China and arrest Mao Zedong.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin also declared war on North Korea, believing Lee Jong-Moon to be a "madman" and would endanger its interests in the Korean Peninsula with his actions.

A joint Chinese-Russian invasion of North Korea occurred on June 25, 1950; after stopping the North Korean invasion of China, the PRC launched its own invasion of the DPRK, intending to oust Lee Jong-Moon from power and annex North Korea.

The Soviets provided logistical and air support. In addition, Soviet partisans had volunteered to fight alongside the Chinese to overthrow Lee Jong-Moon.

The combined Russian and Chinese invasion force decimated North Korea, with many military outposts being overrun. By August of 1950, the joint Chinese-Russian invasion force captured many provinces in North Korea, stopping short of the province of Kangwon.

By the end of August, Lee Jong-Moon realized that he was fighting a losing battle but refused to surrender in the name of saving face. He was soon killed during a stand-off with Russian and Chinese soldiers seeking to arrest him at his home in Pyongyang. With Lee Jong-Moon removed from power, North Korea was split into two occupied areas amongst China and the Soviet Union.

The area occupied by China was renamed the "Second Democratic Republic of Korea."

The territory occupied by the Soviet Union was renamed the "Korean Soviet Socialist Republic" (KSSR).

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was no more, reduced to a mere rump state surrounded by two puppet states.

Image credit: 
1. Call of Duty wiki
2. All other images were found across the web 

Sino-Korean War (1950)