The Korean War left more than two-million civilians dead or wounded.... and a country divided.<br />Taking a look back at the war on this anniversary.... is our Ko Roon-hee. <br />After Japan's defeat in World War II, the Korean Peninsula was liberated from colonial rule.<br /> But that didn't mean a free and independent Korean state.<br />The Soviet Union occupied the north of the country and the U.S. took the south,... dividing Korea along the 38th parallel.<br /><br />In 1948, the South and North formed governments that were ideologically opposed, and each rejected the legitimacy of the other.<br /><br /> On June 25th, 1950, the North Korean army invaded South Korea with Soviet tanks, marking the start of the Korean War.<br />A few months later, the North had conquered nearly all of the South, including its capital, Seoul.<br /> To South Korea's defense came the United Nations, with the United States as the principal force.<br />This is because they saw in the North's attack the growing threat of communism.<br />In September 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief of UN Forces, successfully carried out the Incheon Landing Operation… recapturing Seoul in two weeks.<br />But without warning, communist China sent in massive numbers of troops to help North Korea.<br /><br /> The fighting finally came to an end with an armistice agreement in July 1953,... and the two Koreas remain separated to this day.<br /><br /> Estimates vary, but a report by South Korea's defense ministry suggests the conflict resulted in the deaths of more than 130-thousand South Korean troops, and nearly 38-thousand fighting under UN Command, the vast majority of them Americans.<br /><br /> Earlier this month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in spoke at a ceremony for the country's 63rd Memorial Day, and laid out the government's plan to honor those soldiers and their sacrifices.<br /><br /> "The Republic of Korea will excavate the remains of every single soldier and police officer who died during the Korean War. If inter-Korean relations improve, we will first and foremost work on the recovery of remains in the Demilitarized Zone."<br /><br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
