After three years of heavy fighting, the Korean War came to a halt on July 27, 1953, when an armistice was signed at Panmunjom. Although no formal peace treaty was ever concluded, the agreement marked the end of active combat and established a tense but lasting ceasefire on the Korean Peninsula.
Negotiations for an armistice had begun as early as mid-1951 but dragged on for two years, hampered by disagreements over prisoner exchanges, the placement of borders, and political recognition. During this period, UN and communist forces remained in fierce combat, fighting over hills and ridgelines at great cost, with little ground gained by either side.
The final agreement restored the dividing line near the original 38th parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer zone roughly 2.5 miles wide. The armistice also established a mechanism for the return of prisoners of war and formed a Military Armistice Commission to oversee compliance.
The peninsula remains divided between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and tensions between the two still persist after decades.
After three years of heavy fighting, the Korean War came to a halt on July 27, 1953, when an armistice was signed at Panmunjom. Although no formal peace treaty was ever concluded, the agreement marked the end of active combat and established a tense but lasting ceasefire on the Korean Peninsula.
Negotiations for an armistice had begun as early as mid-1951 but dragged on for two years, hampered by disagreements over prisoner exchanges, the placement of borders, and political recognition. During this period, UN and communist forces remained in fierce combat, fighting over hills and ridgelines at great cost, with little ground gained by either side.
The final agreement restored the dividing line near the original 38th parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer zone roughly 2.5 miles wide. The armistice also established a mechanism for the return of prisoners of war and formed a Military Armistice Commission to oversee compliance.
The peninsula remains divided between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and tensions between the two still persist after decades.