korean war part ii

The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following years of hostilities between the two countries. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and allied countries. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.
In 1910, the Empire of Japan annexed Korea as a colony for 35 years until its surrender at the end of World War II on 15 August 1945. The United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea along the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern zone, and the Americans administered the southern zone. In 1948, as a result of Cold War tensions, the occupation zones became two sovereign states. A communist state, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was established in the north under the government led by Premier Kim Il Sung, while a democracy, the Republic of Korea, was established in the south under the government led by President Syngman Rhee. Both governments claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea and neither accepted the border as permanent.
The years prior to North Korea's invasion of South Korea were marked by border clashes between the two countries and an insurgency in the South that was backed by the North. After failed attempts to stop the fighting and unify the Koreas, North Korean forces (Korean People's Army or KPA) crossed the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950, formally starting the war. The United Nations Security Council denounced North Korea's actions and authorized the formation of the United Nations Command and the dispatch of forces to Korea to repel it. The Soviet Union was boycotting the UN for recognizing Taiwan (Republic of China) as China, and the People's Republic of China was not recognized by the UN, so neither could support their ally North Korea at the Security Council meeting. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel, and represented the first attempt at collective security under the United Nations system.After the first two months of war, the South Korean army (ROKA) and hastily dispatched American forces were on the point of defeat, retreating to a small area behind a defensive line known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, a risky amphibious UN counteroffensive was launched at Incheon, cutting off KPA troops and supply lines in South Korea. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. UN forces then invaded North Korea in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the Yalu River—the border with China—but on 19 October 1950, Chinese forces - the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) - crossed the Yalu and entered the war. The UN retreated from North Korea following the PVA's First Phase Offensive and the Second Phase Offensive. China along with their North Korean and Soviet allies pressed their offensive, invading the South and capturing Seoul by early January 1951. A UN force recaptured the city from them, and the communist forces were pushed back to positions around the 38th parallel following PVA's abortive Fifth Phase Offensive. After this, the front which was close to where the war had started stabilized, and the last two years were a war of attrition.
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In April 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met at the DMZ and agreed to work toward a treaty to end the Korean War formally.The Korean War was a major conflict of the Cold War and among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War. It resulted in the destruction of virtually all of Korea's major cities, with thousands of massacres committed by both sides—including the mass killing of tens of thousands of suspected communists by the South Korean government, and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the North Koreans. North Korea became among the most heavily bombed countries in history. Over the course of the war 1.5 million North Koreans are estimated to have fled North Korea.

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