What an End to the 68-Year Korean War Would Mean
Two Koreas Agree to End War, Pursue Denuclearization
As disputes go, this one really has dragged on. Some 65 years since open hostilities ended in the Korean War, North Korea and the U.S. are still technically at war. The sudden warming of relations this year between North Korea and both South Korea and the U.S. have improved prospects of a long-overdue resolution.
Because the parties involved in talks to end the war -- North and South Korea, China and the United Nations (representing the international community, including the U.S.) -- never were able to agree on a peace treaty. What was signed in 1953 was only an armistice, or truce, and only among three of the four parties, as South Korea held out. That’s why the border between the two nations has been one of the world’s tensest for decades.