North Korea in the Korean War North Korea in the Korean War The Korean War started when North Korea invaded South Korea, and ended on July 27, 1953 with the armistice creating the well-known Korean Demilitarized Zone. In August 1945, two young aides at the State Department divided the Korean peninsula in half along the 38th parallel. The Russians occupied the area north of the line and the United States occupied the area to its south. On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s
Australia in the Korean War and by South Korean, American and UN troops on the other. The DMZ runs north of the parallel towards the east, and to the south as it travels west. The site of the peace talks, Kaesong, the old capital of Korea, was part of the South before hostilities broke out but is currently a special city of the North. North Korea and the United States signed the , with Syngman Rhee refusing to sign. After the war ended, Australians remained in Korea for four years as military observers. Australia gained political and security benefits, the most important being the signing