The first peace talks started in Kaesong in June 1951 but nothing came from this and fighting continued through the winter and a limited war continued until July 1953.
The election of Eisenhower in October 1952 and the death of Stalin in March 1953 opened the way for a settlement.
Rhee still wanted re-unification of Korea and Sung wanted all his prisoners of war back. In July 1953 an agreement was reached for a ceasefire along the 38th parallel but no treaty was ever signed. They were back to square one.
The North could have won the conflict had the Russian delegate used their veto (power to overthrow) and not called for the aid of the 16 member countries of the UN. China initially entered the war because it wanted north Korea as a “buffer” state between itself and America and because it was afraid that MacArthur would invade China.
Some consequences of the war:
- Relations between China and the U.S.A. remained bad until mid 1970s.
- SEATO (South Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was founded
- Relations between U.S.A. and Russia improved (The Thaw 1953 – 1959)
- Korea was still divided (200,000 dead and 5 million homeless)