![](media/image1.wmf)

June 2000

**The Korean War In Brief**

On June 25, 1950, the North Korea Army -- organized, equipped and
abetted by the Soviet Union -- lunged across the 38^th^ Parallel to
subdue its countrymen to the south. This flagrant action impelled
President Harry Truman to commit U.S. armed forces -- unprepared as they
were -- to the defense of South Korea. The United Nations Security
Council simultaneously called upon member states to do likewise. Twenty
other nations would heed the call, 15 sending combat troops, five
providing medical support. For the first time in its history, the UN
authorized establishment of a multi-national force, flying the UN
banner, to repel communist aggression, and requested the United States
to provide a commander for the force. General of the Army Douglas
MacArthur was appointed Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command.

The North Korean offensive drove the defenders to the southeast corner
of the peninsula. There, the Pusan perimeter was established and,
reinforced by U.S. armed forces divisions, held in bitter battle after
bitter battle. The stout defense made possible a brilliantly conceived
amphibious landing at Inchon, which enveloped the over-extended North
Korean Army and recaptured the capital city of Seoul. UN forces advanced
north to compel capitulation of the aggressor and set the stage for the
long-delayed reunification of the Korean people. Sadly, these laudable
aims would be denied.

Massive intervention of the Chinese Communist Forces in November 1950
profoundly altered the nature of the war. Savaged by vastly superior
numbers and ill-equipped for combat in sub-zero weather, UN forces
retreated to a line well south of Seoul, regrouped and, by March 1951,
had fought back to the 38^th^ Parallel. In April and May, Chinese
launched successive major offenses to drive UN forces from the
peninsula. The offensive was repelled at staggering cost to the Chinese.

-more-

Korean War In Brief -- Page 2

With the battle line again astride the pre-invasion boundary \-- proof
that aggression had failed \-- negotiations were initiated to terminate
armed hostilities. Opposing forces remained locked in combat, at great
loss of lives, for the next two years while the Military Armistice
Agreement, effective July 27, 1953, was forged. President Eisenhower
declared, "We have won an armistice on a single battleground, not peace
in the world," capturing the sense that the Korean War was the beginning
of a longer Cold War that would be waged again. In the absence of a
political settlement, the agreement still regulates the de facto
boundary between two Koreas.

he war's consequences extended well beyond Korea and were measured by
dramatic changes to the shape of post-World War II national security
policy:

> America would not be caught "off-guard" again and would maintain
> multi-service forces of requisite power to deter Soviet aggression at
> all levels.
>
> NATO political and military components were strengthened greatly,
> making it the principal instrument for maintaining the security and
> confidence of Western Europe.

Collective security arrangements were forged by bilateral and
multi-lateral treaties with the free nations of Asia. Buttressed by
substantial U.S. presence and aid, the treaties ensured the stability
and forward progress of the entire Pacific Rim.

> The resultant strategic posture, coupled with national resolve,
> contained the Soviet empire for decades and planted the seeds of its
> demise.

hen the guns fell silent over the war-torn Korean peninsula, the final
tally evidenced cost beyond measure in life, limb and material treasure.
Many questioned the value of U.S. involvement. The best answer came more
than four decades later in Seoul Korea, in 1988, when an independent,
economically prosperous nation of 44 million stood free to host the
\"greatest ever\" Olympiad. And later, another answer would come with
the dismantling of the Soviet Union and its plan for world-wide
communism -- proof that the three-year war was truly a portent of
greater victories to come, for Korea and the world.

\###