Fifty-five years and ten months. That’s precisely how long the Korean Armistice lasted.
Today, Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s insanely fearless leader, declared that his country is abandoning the armistice agreement that terminated open hostilities across the Korean frontier on July 27, 1953.
If you ask most people when the Korean War ended, they’ll probably tell you that it was some time in the 1950s. That, of course, would be wrong. The Korean War never actually ended; it was only suspended by the aforesaid armistice agreement — which Kim, in his questionable judgement, has now declared to be void. A de facto state of war now exists between North and South Korea.
In less than a month (on June 25th) the conflict will officially turn 59 years old.
What to do? Very little. The ball is now in China’s court.
Will they choose the DPRK over the UN, as they did in 1950?
I don’t think so.
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• Catch up on North Korea’s first and “second” nuclear tests.
• Read about Kim Jong-il’s succession plan for his son.
Related news:
Russia Fears Korean Conflict Could Go Nuclear
China Opposes North Korean Nuclear Test
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