Results

The political conference provided for by the armistice broke down in the preparatory stages. The question of holding elections to unify Korea was referred, at the request of the UN, to a conference of foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union at Geneva in 1954. No agreement was reached.

The war left both North and South Korea in ruins. Red China, although suffering enormous casualties, emerged from the war stronger than ever. Because the truce had really settled nothing, it was necessary to maintain a constant alert against a new invasion attempt. United States troops remained in Korea, although greatly reduced in number. A particularly serious problem was that North Korea, in violation of the armistice agreement, rearmed its troops with modern weapons. Years after the truce was signed, North and South Korea were still armed camps. UN representatives continued to meet with the North Koreans, but there was little progress toward settling the issues that had caused the war.