1950–53, the Korean War erupted when North Korea invaded South Korea, pulling in U.S.-led U.N. forces to defend the South under Cold War containment policy. After three brutal years of back-and-forth fighting and massive casualties, the conflict didn’t end with a peace treaty but with an armistice on July 27, 1953, signed mainly by military leaders at Panmunjom, establishing a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) about 4 km wide along the front line to prevent further large-scale combat. The U.S. commitment

Korean War: A Legacy of Conflict and Division