Kóreustríðið

Kóreustríðið was a devastating conflict that took place on the Korean Peninsula from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. The war pitted communist North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, against capitalist South Korea, which was aided by the United Nations, primarily the United States.

The conflict began when North Korean forces, under Kim Il-sung, invaded South Korea with the aim of unifying the peninsula under communist rule. The United Nations, with Security Council authorization, intervened to repel the invasion. Initial UN successes pushed North Korean forces back towards the Chinese border, but China's intervention dramatically shifted the tide of the war.

The war devolved into a brutal stalemate, characterized by intense fighting and heavy casualties on all sides. Both sides experienced significant losses of life, with millions of soldiers and civilians killed. The peninsula was devastated by the fighting, with widespread destruction of infrastructure and cities.

Armistice negotiations began in 1951, but it took two years of difficult talks to reach an agreement. The Korean Armistice Agreement, signed on July 27, 1953, ended the fighting but did not result in a peace treaty. This means that technically, North and South Korea remain in a state of war. A demilitarized zone (DMZ) was established along the 38th parallel, the de facto border between the two Koreas, which remains heavily fortified to this day. The Korean War had a significant impact on the Cold War, escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and solidifying the division of Korea.