Korean War

Also called: 6·25 War

A war that began with the North Korean invasion of the South at dawn on 25 June 1950. UN and Chinese forces joined, and the armistice of 27 July 1953 drew the present demarcation line.

With rival governments in place in a Cold War world, the United States left Korea outside its Pacific defence perimeter in the Acheson Declaration of January 1950. Promised Soviet and Chinese support, North Korea invaded on 25 June, took Seoul in three days and drove the South Korean army back to the Nakdong River. The UN Security Council condemned the aggression and sent UN forces, with combat troops from sixteen countries.

The Incheon landing in September turned the tide, leading to the recapture of Seoul and an advance north, but Chinese intervention in October pushed the UN forces back into the January Fourth Retreat. From spring 1951 the front settled near the 38th parallel and armistice talks began in July; after two more years of fighting over hilltops the armistice was signed on 27 July 1953.

The war killed and wounded vast numbers, separated families and orphaned children, and laid waste to land and industry. South Korea concluded a mutual defence treaty with the United States, and both Koreas used anti-communism or anti-Americanism to entrench dictatorial rule.