Korean War
1950–1953 North-South Korea war / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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. The war ceased with an armistice on 27 July 1953. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and the United Nations (UN).
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Korean War | |||||||||
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Part of the Cold War and the Korean conflict | |||||||||
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South Korea | North Korea | ||||||||
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Peak strength (combat troops): |
Total: 2,970,000[32] 72,000[31] Together: 3,042,000 | ||||||||
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When World War II ended in 1945, Korea, which had been a Japanese colony for 35 years, was temporarily divided by the United States and the Soviet Union along the 38th parallel.[lower-alpha 3] Due to Cold War tensions, however, each half became a sovereign state. North Korea was led by Kim Il Sung, and the First Republic of Korea in the south was led by Syngman Rhee. Both claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea and neither accepted the 38th parallel as permanent.
Both sides were engaged in border skirmishes, while the South also suppressed an uprising in Jeju abetted by Pyongyang.[35][36][37] On 25 June 1950, the North's Korean People's Army (KPA) crossed below the 38th parallel.[38][39] The United Nations Security Council denounced the invasion and authorized the United Nations Command to repel the KPA.[40][41][42] The Soviet Union and communist China were both absent from the council and unable to oppose the resolution.[lower-alpha 4] The UN force would eventually include twenty one countries, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel.[44][45]
After the first two months of war, the South Korean army (ROKA) and its allies were nearly defeated, holding onto only the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, however, UN forces landed at Incheon, cutting off KPA troops and supply lines. They invaded North Korea in October 1950 and advanced towards the Yalu River—the border with China. On 19 October 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu and entered the war.[38] UN forces retreated from North Korea following PVA's first and second offensive. Communist forces captured Seoul again in January 1951 before losing it. Following the abortive Chinese spring offensive, they were pushed back to the 38th parallel, and the final two years turned into a war of attrition.
The combat ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. It allowed the exchange of prisoners and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The conflict is among the most destructive wars in the modern era, inflicting around 3 million fatalities and a larger proportion of civilian deaths than World War II or the Vietnam War. Thousands of massacres occurred, including the 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. Virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed. North Korea became one of the most heavily bombed countries in history,[46] and an estimated 1.5 million of its people fled the country.[47] No peace treaty was ever signed, making this a frozen conflict.[48][49]