A Twist on the Korean War

A few months ago, I wrote about a twist on the end of World War II. This time I present the Korean War. However, this is more fact than fiction.

On June 25, 1950 the Korean War began. 60 years later it still has not officially ended. In July 1953, a cease-fire was ordered and much of the fighting stopped. I will admit until recently I misunderstood the way that the Korean War has stopped and how that has affected the relationship of the two main countries involved. Over the near 57 years since that cease-fire, we have seen that tensions are still very high between North and South Korea.

At the end of March, a South Korean navy vessel was sunk by a North Korea torpedo attack. This was the latest example that the possibility of war between the two nations still exists. South Korea has tried to act as openly as possible in regard to not looking for fight with their neighbors to the north, but this incident has set off much anger. South Korea will not sit idly by and allow North Korea to attack them without a response. Self-defense will the first and most obvious claim by South Korea if they seek retribution. Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korea, has spoken out in the wake of the sinking of the vessel. Lee has called the action a clear violation of the U.N. Charter as well as the Korean War Armistice that paved the way for an end to fighting. North Korea has tried to brush blame away from them, but has not shown any sign of being afraid to begin an all out war against South Korea and the surrounding area.

However, this could be an opportunity for paving a pathway for negotiations with North Korea and increase pressure on them. China, though, is of crucial importance. China has yet to speak out against or for action against North Korea. Previously, China approved two U.N. sanctions in the last five years against North Korea when there was evidence that they had tested nuclear weapons. This is more ambigious and might be a bit tougher to garner their support. Additionally, the relationship between the two Asian nations of late as been fairly good as they assist each other financially.

Nonetheless, the most important item at hand is avoiding a return to warfare in Korea. Right now, there are roughly one million troops at the Demilitarized Zone or border of the two Korean nations. There are also nearly 30,000 American troops in South Korea still and it goes without mentioning the nuclear capabilities of North Korea. The world is a lot different than 1953 when the cease-fire occurred and if the war was restarted somehow; it could be far worse in one year than the three years of Korean War combined.

The sinking incident is an important reminder that deterrence and proper diplomatic measures are of high importance moving forward with North Korea. Anger often leads to rash decisions and choices and right now the anger is about as high as it gets between South and North Korea. The attack is also a reminder that talks for an elimination of nuclear weapons needs to be restarted for security and safety of that region of the world. These talks were cut off when the United States and North Korea could not make any reasonable headway.

If tensions continue and we see another incident like the vessel attack, then what was paused in 1953 could very well begin anew. Ultimately, that is what is at stake and cannot be looked at too lightly.