Civil and international war that entrenched division on the Korean peninsula.
The Korean War was a civil and international conflict from 1950 to 1953. It grew from Korea's division after Japanese colonial rule and became a major confrontation involving North and South Korea, the United States-led UN command and China.
An armistice stopped fighting but no peace treaty ended the war. The peninsula remains divided.
Soviet and American occupation zones hardened into rival states in 1948. North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in June 1950.
UN-backed forces recovered South Korea and advanced north. Chinese intervention drove them back, producing a long stalemate around the original dividing line.
Bombing, massacre, displacement and family separation devastated civilians. Different national memories continue to frame responsibility and legitimacy.
Negotiations lasted two years, especially over prisoners. The 1953 armistice created a demilitarised zone but no political settlement.
Soviet and US forces accepted Japanese surrender in separate zones.
Both governments claimed authority over Korea.
The war began with a rapid advance south.
UN forces reversed the initial invasion.
Chinese armies entered the war.
Fighting stopped near the 38th parallel.
Was the war primarily civil or international?
Why did intervention widen?
How has the absence of peace shaped later relations?
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