The armistice stopped major fighting and separated the opposing forces. It left Korea divided and the final political settlement unresolved.
An armistice is a military agreement to stop fighting; it is not necessarily a final peace treaty. On 27 July 1953, representatives of the UN command and the North Korean and Chinese commands signed the Korean Armistice Agreement. Rhee opposed a settlement that left Korea divided, and South Korea did not sign. The agreement set a military demarcation line, a line separating the opposing sides, broadly near but not identical to the original 38th parallel.
Each side had to move its forces two kilometres back from that line. Together these withdrawals created the four-kilometre-wide Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), a buffer intended to reduce clashes between the armies. The agreement stopped the main fighting after enormous deaths, displacement and destruction. The South survived, so the initial American aim of preventing its conquest was achieved. Kim failed to conquer the South, while China retained a neighbouring communist state. Reunification and a final peace settlement remained unresolved: judge each result against the aim of the actor concerned.
Worked example: Judge American success against two different aims
The border changed little overall. Does that mean the intervention achieved nothing?
- Initially the USA sought to prevent the conquest of South Korea. The South survived, so intervention achieved that limited aim.
- The later advance north sought reunification under a non-communist government. That aim failed: two Korean states remained.
- Weigh these different results alongside deaths, destruction and continuing military commitments. A small change on the map can still represent a costly success at preventing defeat.
Watch out for this
Because the commands agreed to stop fighting, the armistice settled which government should rule Korea.
The military agreement left that political question for a later settlement. It separated the forces and stopped major fighting without reunifying the country.
Check your understanding
What did the armistice settle, and what did it leave unresolved?
- It made the original 38th parallel a final political border accepted by both Korean governments.
- It ended the rivalry by requiring foreign troops to leave Korea altogether.
- It halted major fighting and created a buffer zone, while leaving rival claims to govern Korea unresolved.