END OF THE KOREAN WAR

• Stalemate and Armistice talks


  • By 1951, a stalemate was reached around the 38th parallel

  • Both North and South Korea still wanted to continue fighting until they completely unify Korea

  • BUT US, UN, USSR and China started to exert pressure on their respective allies to participate in armistice talks. Both had no choice but to negotiate

  • Negotiations dragged from 1951 to 1953
• Stalemate and Armistice talks


  • 1953, Stalin died and the new leadership was keen to end the war and stop the strain on the Soviet economy

  • Dwight Eisenhower replaced Truman as the US President. One of his election promises was to bring an end to the Korean War

  • He persuaded Rhee and threatened the Chinese and NK with nuclear weapons if they did not cooperate.

  • A formal cease-fire was finally signed in July 1953

  • No peace treaty was signed

  • Armistice was intended as a temporary measure to suspend open hostilities, set up a fixed demilitarization zone and transfer prisoners of war.