The Korean War in Photos, 70 Years After the Truce
The Korean War broke out when a Soviet-backed, Communist North invaded the pro-American southern territory of the Korean Peninsula in 1950, leading to one of the most harrowing conflicts of the 20th century and setting the tone of the Cold War in Asia.
Despite American officials who initially described the Communist invaders as little more than “bandits,” the war dragged on for three disastrous years. Troops from both sides massacred civilians. Rival villagers slaughtered each other. The American-led United Nations forces suffered a crushing defeat when the North Koreans swept down the peninsula in 1950, occupying Seoul, the South Korean capital, before they were pushed back to the north.
Between 2 million and 3 million people — including 36,500 American troops — were estimated to have been killed. China’s intervention on the North’s behalf led to a stalemate between the two sides, and the fighting was halted roughly along the 38th Parallel after a truce was signed on July 27, 1953. But with no formal peace treaty ever established, the two Koreas technically remain at war.
Hostilities between the North and South have escalated in recent years. Kim Jong-un, the North’s dynastic ruler, has threatened to use nuclear weapons should fighting begin again.
Source: The New York Times
