70th Anniversary Of Korean War And Its Relevance In 2020 – Free PDF

70^th Anniversary of Korean War

• On 25^th June 2020, North and South Korea marked the 70th anniversary of the conflict that famously never ended.
• The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 and stopped with an armistice in July 1953.
• Map of Korean peninsula

The Background to Korean war

• Japan had occupied Korea since 1910
• World war 2
• Army of – USSR from north

USA from south

• Stopped at 38^th parallel – De facto division
• From 1945-1948 the Korean peninsula was administered by the allies.
• Kim Il Sung
• Syngman Rhee

War breaks out 

• 25 June 1950 -North invades south to ‘’unify’’ Korean peninsula.
• UN Resolution to help south Korea passed
• Northern army overran almost entire peninsula up to Busan.

• September 1950 – Outflank manoeuvre by US forces led by Gen.Douglas MacArthur – amphibious landings at Incheon and retaking of Seoul.
• UN forces reach up to Yalu river
• Oct 1950-China enters the war and pushes UN forces back (Seoul captured by January 7,1951)
• April 1951 – UN Forces recapture Seoul
• Douglas MacArthur called back by US President.
• Stalemate –
• Fight lasted for two more years around the 38^th

The Forever War

• 27 July 1953 – fighting stops after signing of an armistice.
• India played a big role in negotiations.
• Demilitarized zone – 4km exclusion zone at the border
• However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and DPRK and ROK are technically, still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict.

One of the deadliest conflict of 20^th century

• War crimes by both sides
• Civilian deaths ~2.5 million
• Military deaths- ~1 million (35000 US soldiers)
• No major geographical, political and administrative changes.

Commemorations

• South – veterans of the war met for a low-key commemoration. Video messages from US president Donald Trump and other world leaders played.
• North – The main daily state-run newspaper of the North marked the day with a front-page commentary calling for people to follow in the footsteps of those who fought to defend the nation.

North Korea signals

• “Several decades have passed, but the danger of war has never left this soil. Hostile forces are seeking to crush North Korea.’’
• Observers believe North Korea is trying to wrest concessions from Seoul and Washington amid stalled nuclear talks.

The Peace process since 2018

• Just two years ago, it looked like unprecedented talks between the leaders of the two Koreas, China and the US might result in a permanent peace treaty finally being signed – but in recent months, inter-Korean relations have dramatically deteriorated.
• In April 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met at the DMZ and agreed to work towards a treaty to formally end the Korean War
• 2018 – Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula.
• The document commits the two countries to a nuclear-free peninsula and talks to bring a formal end to the Korean War.*

USA’s Interest

• While Seoul continues to push for a permanent peace treaty, the greatest priority for its ally the US has now become the need to remove North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which could have the potential to reach the mainland United States.

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