The story of the Korean war

The ferocious war started on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, threw its weight behind South Korea. China took sides with North Korea. The Soviet Union also gave some assistance to the North.

It must be noted that Korea was ruled by Imperial Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Imperial Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, and ended Japanese rule north of the 38th parallel.

U.S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a result of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions with separate governments. Both claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent.

The conflict degenerated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved into the south on 25 June 1950. The United Nations Security Council authorized the formation and dispatch of UN forces to Korea to repel what was recognized as a North Korean invasion. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.

After the first two months of war, South Korean and U.S. forces were on the verge of defeat. They were forced back to a small area in the south known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Incheon, this was to cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped being captured were forced back north. UN forces rapidly advanced towards the Yalu River—the border with China. However, in October 1950, mass Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. The surprise Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951.

After these reversals of fortune, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their communist allies.

The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed but never a peace treaty. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty has ever been signed, the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict.