The 1953 armistice stopped the fighting and created the DMZ, but Korea stayed divided and no peace treaty was signed.
An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting. It is not a final peace treaty. On 27 July 1953, the UN command and the North Korean and Chinese commands signed the Korean Armistice Agreement. Rhee did not want Korea left divided, so South Korea did not sign.
The deal set a new line between the armies, close to the 38th parallel. Each side pulled back two kilometres. This created the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), a four-kilometre-wide buffer.
The war had caused huge loss of life and destruction. The South survived, so the first US aim was met. Kim failed to take the South. China kept a communist neighbour. But Korea stayed divided, and no peace treaty was ever agreed. So judge each side's success against its own aims.
- 27 July 1953
- Korean Armistice Agreement signed.
- DMZ
- Four-kilometre buffer between the two Koreas.
- Not settled
- Reunification and a final peace treaty.
Worked example: Judge success against each aim
The border barely changed. Did US intervention achieve nothing?
- First aim, save the South: achieved.
- Later aim, reunite Korea under the South: failed.
- Weigh both against the huge human cost.
Watch out for this
The armistice decided which government should rule Korea.
It only stopped the fighting. Both governments stayed, and no peace treaty was signed.
Check your understanding
What did the 1953 armistice do?
- It reunited Korea under one government.
- It stopped the fighting and created the DMZ, leaving Korea divided.
- It was a peace treaty signed by both Korean governments.