Korean Armistice
Every month, a significant historical event will be posted corresponding to that month. Since it is July, a historical event is the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953.
The agreement, signed by the U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Harrison, Jr., North Korean General Nam Il, and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, enforced a ceasefire and freed the prisoners-of-war. However, it did not formally end the war because its primary objective was to "insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved." The aforementioned ‘peace settlement’ has not been agreed upon.
The armistice also established the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone), which is the border between North and South Korea.
The DMZ
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July 27 is commemorated as Korean War Veterans Armistice Day every year. Although the Korean government regularly observes the armistice anniversary with ceremonies—such as the 70th-anniversary commemoration in Busan, it does not celebrate this as a public holiday. Instead, the United States does.
70th-Anniversary Commemoration
In 2014, President Obama stated that “[The anniversary] commemorates the beginning of a long and prosperous peace. In six decades, the Republic of Korea has become one of the world's largest economies and one of America's closest allies. Together, we have built a partnership that remains a bedrock of stability throughout the Pacific. That legacy belongs to the Service members who fought for freedom 60 years ago and the men and women who preserve it today."
Statues from the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
A PDF of the Korean Armistice Agreement can be found here.
Pictured: North Korean Army officers and U.S. military representatives initial maps defining the future Demilitarized Zone or DMZ at Panmunjom, October 1951.
Photo from the U.S. Air Force
