End of the Korean War (AQA GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

The two sides in the Korean War eventually fought to a standstill, and a peace was negotiated. After years of fighting and many thousands of deaths, Korea remained divided along the 38th parallel. 

The significance of the Korean War is unclear. Although Korea remained largely unchanged, the conflict had wider implications for the Cold War. Tensions and spending on nuclear weapons and armed forces by both superpowers increased dramatically during the Cold War. It also led to closer ties between the USSR and China, while the USA invested in and forged new alliances with other countries in Asia.

Stalemate and peace talks in Korea

• At the start of the Korean War, there had been rapid victories for both sides and enormous areas of land being captured

  • By the middle of 1951, the fighting had become bogged down in a stalemate

  • Neither side was able to break through the minefields and fortified positions of the other around the 38th Parallel

• War in the air continued between the fighter jets of both sides

  • Hundreds of thousands of people, including many civilians, were killed in an enormous American aerial bombing campaign

• Peace talks began in July 1951, but disagreements over the return of captured prisoners and territory meant they were unsuccessful

Armistice for the Korean War

• Dwight D. Eisenhower had become US President in November 1952 and was eager for the fighting to stop

  • Stalin, the leader of the USSR, had died in March 1953, and China was not sure the new Soviet leader would be as supportive of the war

• This led both sides to negotiate

  • A peace treaty to end the fighting (known as an armistice) was eventually signed between North Korea, China and the UN on 27 July 1953

• The years of fighting and thousands of deaths had led to very little change

  • There were still two separate Korean states that were divided along the 38th Parallel

  • A two-kilometre demilitarised zone that ran the entire length of the border was created by the armistice

  • This was intended to prevent the militaries of both sides from coming into contact with each other

• The Korean War had a wider impact on the Cold War, including:

  • impact on UN credibility

  • the signing of the ANZUS pact

  • a closer relationship between China and the USSR

  • US assistance to countries in Southeast Asia

  • increase in armed forces and nuclear weapons

  • breakdown of relations between the US and China