The Korean War, from June 25 1950 until a cease-fire took effect on July 27 1953 (the war has not officially ended) started as a civil war between North Korea and South Korea. When it began, North and South Korea existed as provisional governments competing for control over the Korean peninsula, due to the division of Korea. The Cold War-era conflict was a proxy war between the United States and its allies and the Communist powers of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Soviet Union. The principal combatants were North Korea, supported by People's Volunteer Army (PVA) of the People's Republic of China, and later Soviet combat advisors, aircraft pilots, and weapons; and South Korea, supported principally by the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and the Philippines, although many other nations sent troops under the aegis of the United Nations (UN).

In South Korea, it is often called, "yugio" (육이오) meaning "6·25" (the date of the start of the conflict), or, more formally, Hanguk Jeonjaeng (한국전쟁) simply meaning, "korean war". In North Korea it is formally called the "Fatherland Liberation War." In the United States, the conflict was termed a police action, as the Korean Conflict, under the aegis of the United Nations rather than a war, largely in order to remove the necessity of a Congressional declaration of war. The war is sometimes referred to in the West as "The Forgotten War," primarily because it is a major conflict in the 20th century that is rarely referred to.

Historical background

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See also: Korea under Japanese rule, Division of Korea

Korea was invaded and ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II in 1945. On August 6, the Soviet Union, in keeping with an arrangement made with the United States government, declared war on the Japanese Empire and on August 8 entered Korea from the north. President Harry S Truman ordered the landing of U.S. troops in the south.^*

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Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
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Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
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