A war they don’t want to end (On the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement)

Abstract

Almost 70 years ago, on July 27, 1953 the representatives of the warring parties of the DPRK and PRC – the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), leader of the DPRK Kim Il Sung and the Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, General (one of the 10 marshals of the PRC) Peng Dehuai, along with the Commander-in-Chief of the UN Command, American General Mark W. Clark, signed the Korean Armistice Agreement. One of the main participants in the war, South Korea, represented by the President Rhee Syngman, refused to sign it, and since then Seoul has not changed its position on this document. The article examines the circumstances of the outbreak of the Korean War of 1950–1953, its causes, nature, results, as well as the reasons why it remains unfinished up to this day. The author draws historical parallels with other similar conflicts and suggests the prospects and possibilities of a legal end to the Korean War.

Keywords

• korean war of 1950–1953
• korean armistice agreement
• end of the war
• peace treaty