Guide Note

The Korean War, a conflict between North Korea and South Korea, started in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea and ended in 1953 with the signing of a peace agreement. The war also involved the United States, the Soviet Union, China, The United Nations and 17 other nations.

Fast Facts

1. A war between North and South Korea
2. Lasted from June 1950 to July 1953
3. Supporting North Korea: Soviet Union, China
4. Supporting South Korea: United Nations, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom
5. Ended with a peace agreement: The Korean Armistice Agreement

Korea became a Japanese colony in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War and was divided into two regions after World War II, with the Soviet Union controlling the North and the United States controlling the South.¹ The regions became two separate nations in 1948. The invasion of South Korea was an attempt to reunify the two regions into one nation by bringing the South under the control of North Korea's government and its leader Kim II Sung. Several nations held an interest in the outcome, including the Soviet Union, which supported the communist regime in the North, and the United States, which was determined to prevent a communist victory over the South.²