--- title: North Korea, South Korea Meeting: Why They're Still at War description: Their leaders are finally meeting, but North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war despite the 1953 Korean War Armistice. canonical: https://time.com/5253054/north-korea-south-korea-war-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-26T16:30:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:57:53.923Z article:section: History og:title: North Korea, South Korea Meeting: Why They're Still at War og:description: Despite an armistice signed in 1953 og:url: https://time.com/5253054/north-korea-south-korea-war-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9138917209472c9/69892ea5e76ad2766e631cc4/armistice-north-korea-south-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: armistice-north-korea-south-korea og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: North Korea, South Korea Meeting: Why They're Still at War twitter:description: Despite an armistice signed in 1953 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9138917209472c9/69892ea5e76ad2766e631cc4/armistice-north-korea-south-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why North Korea and South Korea Are Technically Still at War > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=c6841d2f-4647-4284-b646-a9c8cd1f77da&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=c6841d2f-4647-4284-b646-a9c8cd1f77da&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 26, 2018 4:30 PM UTC  General W. K. Harrison, Jr., left, and North Korean General Nam Il, right, signs the armistice ending the three year Korean conflict, Panmunjom, Korea, July 1953. General W. K. Harrison, Jr., left, and North Korean General Nam Il, right, signs the armistice ending the three year Korean conflict, Panmunjom, Korea, July 1953. Interim Archives—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 26, 2018 4:30 PM UTC North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in may be [meeting](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/world/asia/korea-peace-treaty.html) each other for the first time [on Friday](http://time.com/5251981/south-korea-north-korea-summit-students/), but there’s a sense of déjà vu in the air. They’re meeting at Panmunjom in the [Demilitarized Zone](http://time.com/5140128/dmz-north-south-korea/) on the border of the two countries, the same place where an [armistice](https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=85) was signed — by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William K. Harrison Jr. of the United Nations Command Delegation and North Korean General Nam Il, who also represented China — on July 27, 1953, putting an end to the roughly three years of fighting of the 1950-1953 [Korean War](http://time.com/3915803/korean-war-1950-history/). But the armistice was a ceasefire, not a permanent peace treaty. That means the countries are [technically still at war](http://time.com/5246212/south-korea-formal-peace-treaty/), in a decades-long “conflict without hostilities,” says historian Charles K. Armstrong, a Korean Studies specialist. That’s a fact about which U.S. President Donald Trump expressed surprise this month. “People don’t realize the Korean War has not ended,” he [said](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/people-dont-realize-trump-and-the-historical-facts-he-wants-you-to-know/2018/04/18/a453adc6-4311-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.8aaf753cf9a6). So why wasn’t a permanent peace treaty signed back then? And why wasn’t South Korea on board in the first place? “The top commanders, like everyone else, were glad that the bloodshed was ended, but they took no pride in their achievement, and they felt no satisfaction in the armistice they were ordered to sign,” TIME reported [the week after the signing](http://time.com/vault/issue/1953-08-03/page/1/). “They knew the argument that in this war freedom had been defended and aggression repelled, but, cabled TIME Correspondent Dwight Martin, ‘they all seem concerned that some day they will be called on to explain why they signed the present armistice. Several I’ve talked to specifically think in terms of investigating committees demanding to know whether it is a fact that they sold out Korea. They frankly admit that complex justifications and explanations, currently acceptable, may look pretty lame in a year or so.'” (In fact, there were fears of a [nuclear war ](http://time.com/4740969/nuclear-north-korea-history-1953/)then as now.) South Korea didn’t even sign the armistice, though the nation [recently confirmed](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/world/asia/north-korea-south-treaty.html) that it has discussed signing a peace treaty with North Korea. Even so, the parties who signed the armistice certainly didn’t plan for the conflict to remain unresolved for more than half a century. They planned to reach a permanent peace agreement the following year, at a conference in Geneva. In fact, the promise of such a conference — perhaps tellingly — was a [crucial step](http://time.com/vault/issue/1953-08-03/page/23/) in allowing both sides to agree to sign the armistice agreement even without having all their concerns addressed at the time. That conference, which also addressed [a number of other global issues](http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/collection/7/geneva-conference-of-1954), convened precisely 64 years ago Thursday, on April 26, 1954\. But, when it came time to set the final terms there, leaders couldn’t agree on the best path forward. “The idea of the Geneva conference was that there would be a new unified Korean government established after a new election, but \[delegates\] couldn’t agree on the process of how that would happen,” says Armstrong. “So the Geneva conference collapsed and we’ve been in the same situation ever since. There have been periodic discussions, but the situation of conflict has never been resolved.” South Korea didn’t sign the armistice because its President, Syngman Rhee, thought that “the U.S. should have done more to extend South Korea’s control over the peninsula,” says Armstrong. Another obstacle was America’s refusal to recognize the People’s Republic of China as a legitimate government, symbolized by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles [refusing to shake hands](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053780,00.html) with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during the Geneva conference. ### See Photos from the Early Days of the Korean War  Caption from LIFE. First U.S. infantry outfit to shed blood in the Korean war was the 24th "Victory" Division, three of whose men are shown aboard a jeep in Korea. (This image was the cover of LIFE on July 31, 1950.) Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Leaving Japan for unknown destination, soldiers of 1st Cavalry crowd transport's rail for last look at the dock. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At dawn on July 18 P'ohang-Dong's harbor is dotted with landing craft ready to take men ashore. A scouting party which went in earlier had already reported there was no opposition. This was the fastest amphibious landing in history. It was planned and staged in 10 days. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Still in the dark about mission, GI's read about war they were too young to serve in. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Commanders, 1st Cavalry's General Hobart R. Gay (left), Rear Admiral J.H.Doyle, discuss typhoon menace. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Over the side of transport battle-dressed GIs board landing craft for a short ride to the beach at P'ohang-dong. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Jammed with men, an LCVP speeds ashore. Lack of opposition was especially fortunate since task force was in no shape for sharply contested beachhead. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On a jetty leading to a harbor beacon at P'ohang-Dong, an LST disgorges 1st Cavalry GI's who walk ashore without getting feet wet. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Jeeps are unloaded from LCT with help of Koreans. They also helped build airbase near P'ohang-dong where fighters operated even before the landing. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Newly arrived troops gathering at the beach awaiting orders to move further inland. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Grim GI stands by tank-busting 75-mm, recoilless rifles as men and equipment build up on beach. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. GI's march through town to take positions in hills. A few Koreans stared from windows. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The 1st Cavalry in Korea, July 1950. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Indentification is worn by U.S. flyer at base. Sign, in Korean, asks help should he be shot down. Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images North Korea and South Korea later signed [a pact](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/world/koreas-sign-pact-renouncing-force-in-a-step-to-unity.html) promising to [refrain from aggression. ](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/world/koreas-sign-pact-renouncing-force-in-a-step-to-unity.html)In Dec. 1991, in keeping with the peacetime spirit of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the two sides promised to work towards reconciliation, following a U.S. pledge to [withdraw](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/world/us-to-pull-a-bombs-from-south-korea.html) nukes from South Korea. The U.S. announced it would [suspend joint military exercises with South Korea](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/01/07/Team-Spirit-joint-US-South-Korea-exercise-called-off/5381694760400/) a month later. The pact wasn’t very effective, but “that agreement also hasn’t been abandoned either,” Armstrong adds. “But then in 1992 the U.S. began to accuse North Korea of possibly developing a secret nuclear weapons program, so we didn’t get very far after that.” The armistice has always been on shaky ground. “There have been numerous violations of the armistice agreement since 1953, and things seemed to escalate around 2010,” says Armstrong. He points to the sinking of the warship _Cheonan,_ which killed 46 sailors in March of 2010 and for which South Korea [blames](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32013750) the North, and the North [firing](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world/asia/24korea.html) artillery shells onto the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November of the same year, killing two marines and two construction workers and wounding more than a dozen others. In 2013, North Korea even declared the armistice [invalid](https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/world/asia/north-korea-armistice/index.html). “The line between a state of conflict and active hostilities is pretty thin, and there isn’t much to restrain either side from going to war if that’s what they wanted to do,” says Armstrong. “I don’t expect a grand bargain, but I feel there’s a lot of potential we haven’t seen in decades. All three sides seem really keen on making something work. 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