End the Korean War

by Larry Kerschner

The Korean War was fought between 1950 and 1953 between South Korea and United Nations forces and North Korea and China. While this was promoted as a United Nations action, 88% of the troops were supplied by the United States. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when the armistice agreement was signed.   Sixty years after the armistice to halt fighting was signed a state of war still exists.  The last elements of the Chinese Army left Korea in 1958. The United States still has 23,000 troops occupying South Korea. This unfortunate reality is due to the persistent U.S. government opposition to signing a peace treaty with North Korea.  Recently as part of Obama’s military shift to the Pacific, the U.S. increased troops in South Korea by about 1,000 while stationing 80 Abraham’s tanks. The Veterans For Peace have produced a short video on why we should end the Korean War: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxCDLDkyAUw).  As we shift our military imperialism from Europe to the Pacific, it is important to understand the history of the area.  The Olympia chapter of WWFOR in one of its many fine monthly TV programs produced a video that looks at the long history of U.S.-Korea interactions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3zNdXBjEQs&feature=youtu.be..