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"Communism was acting in Korea just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had acted ten, fifteen and twenty years earlier. I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall, Communist leaders would be emboldened to override nations closer to our own shores. If the Communists were permitted to force their way into the Republic of Korea without opposition from the free world, no small nation would have the courage to resist threats and aggression by stronger communist neighbors. If this was allowed to go unchallenged it would mean a third world war, just as similar incidents had brought on the second world war." -US President Harry Truman        

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Background

The Korean War was a proxy war in the Cold War. The US, with the United Nations on its side, was a strong believer of what would later be called the Domino Theory: if one country is allowed to fall to Communism, then surrounding countries will follow.  South Korea, the US’s proxy, was attacked by Communist North Korea under USSR approval. The US soon contributed troops, while the USSR’s biggest role was allowing fellow Communists to approve an armistice. 

Thesis

Negotiations between countries took two years until an armistice was agreed upon. The armistice proved that wars could be ended by diplomatic means. Despite its failure to reunite the Koreas, it confirmed the UN’s competence as an international power. Although the armistice didn't terminate tensions between the US and USSR, it did end the fighting that very well could have escalated into a third world war.

Korea, Here We Come      
by Harry Choates      

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