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Korean War
In South Korea: ()
In North Korea: ()
Belligerents
North Korea
South Korea[a]
UN Command:[a] China
Soviet Union
United States Medical support[show]
United Kingdom
Other support[show]
Canada
Turkey
Australia
Philippines
New Zealand
Thailand
Ethiopia
Greece
France
Colombia
Belgium
South Africa
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Medical support[show]
Other support[show]
Clement Attlee
Winston Churchill
Cell Bayar
Robert Menzies
Elpidio Quirino
Nikolaos Plastiras
Sophoklis Venizelos
Alexander Papagos
Strength
602,902[11] 1,350,000[18]
326,863[12] 266,600[19]
14,198[13][14] 26,000[20]
1,496 [13]
war.
1,385[13]
1,290[16]
1,271[17]
1,263[13][17]
1,185[17]
1,068[13]
900[13]
826[13]
819[13]
170[16]
105[16]
100[16]
72[16]
70[16]
44[13]
Total: 972,214
789,000
Details[show]
Details[show]
373,599 killed[16]
229,625 wounded[16]
387,744 abducted/missing[16]
[show]
e
Korean War
The Korean War (in South Korean Hangul: ; Hanja: ; RR: Hanguk Jeonjaeng,
"Korean War"; in North Korean Chosn'gl: ; Hancha: ; MR: Choguk
haebang chnjaeng, "Fatherland Liberation War"; 25 June 1950 27 July 1953)[36][b][38] was
a war between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South
Korea (with the principal support of the United States). The war began on 25 June 1950 when
North Korea invaded South Korea.[39][40] The United Nations, with the United States as the
principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the
Soviet Union also gave some assistance to the North.
Korea was ruled by Imperial Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August
1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Imperial Japan, as a result of an agreement with the
United States, and liberated Korea north of the 38th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently moved
into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United
States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments. Both claimed to be the
legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent. The
conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forcessupported by the Soviet Union
and Chinamoved into the south on 25 June 1950.[41] On 27 June, the United Nations Security
Council authorized the formation and dispatch of UN forces to Korea to repel what was
recognized as a North Korean invasion.[42] Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually
contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.
After the first two months of war, South Korean and U.S. forces rapidly dispatched to Korea were
on the point of defeat, forced back to a small area in the south known as the Pusan Perimeter. In
September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Incheon, and cut off
many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back
north. UN forces rapidly approached the Yalu Riverthe border with Chinabut in October 1950,
mass Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war.[41] The surprise Chinese intervention
triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951.