As long as tensions remain high, we have to have a strong deterrent. The fighting ended, but neither side completely stood down. Instead, they pulled back 2,000 meters from either side of a dividing line between North and South Korea, where they remain today, locked in a battle of wills. Although an armistice ended outright hostilities in 1953, to this day North Korea remains committed to a forced reunification of the Peninsula under Communist rule.
Imminent danger authorizes a service medal anywhere.
Approximately 40,000 U.S. troops are deployed to Korea . U.S. Forces Korea is an outgrowth of the legal and moral security commitment the United States made to South Korea at the time of the war. This partnership has been strengthened in 1978 by establishment of the Combined Forces Command an integrated headquarters responsible for planning the defense of South Korea and directing combat forces to defeat enemy aggression. U.S. Forces Korea operates as a joint headquarters through which American combat forces would be sent to the Combined Forces Command fighting components. According to the Army commander of U.S. Forces Korea, the mission has not changed in 45 years .