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South Korea War on the Korean Peninsula
When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, the poor
quality of the South Korean armed forces immediately became
apparent. Although South Korea had 94,000 troops when North Korea
began its all-out surprise attack, one week later only 20,000
troops could be accounted for. By early September 1950, the
invading forces held all of South Korea except for the PusanTaegu corridor in the southeast.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council, upon the request of
the United States, condemned North Korea's invasion of South
Korea and asked members of the UN to assist South Korea. Fifteen
nations besides the United States and South Korea eventually
provided troops; all forces fought under the UN flag and under
the unified command of General Douglas A. MacArthur, commander in
chief of UN forces. These combined forces successfully broke
North Korea's extended supply lines by landing at Inch'on in
September 1950. The invading forces were pushed back to near the
Chinese border. Only the massive intervention of the Chinese
People's Volunteers (CPV) in October averted the defeat of the
North Korean forces. United Nations and communist forces fought
to a standstill.
In July 1953, an armistice was signed that in 1990 remained
the only agreement preventing the renewal of hostilities on the
peninsula. The armistice fixed the boundaries of the 241-
kilometer Demilitarized Zone as the border between North Korea
and South Korea. It also established a Military Armistice
Commission, comprising China, North Korea, the United States, and
South Korea, to resolve armistice violations and prevent the
resumption of hostilities. As of 1990, the Chinese representative
still was posted to the Military Armistice Commission, attended
its plenary sessions, participated in secretarial meetings,
officers of the day meetings, language officers meetings, and
observed Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission meetings, but
deferred to North Korea's representative.
Data as of June 1990
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