Armistice negotiations began on July 10,
1951, at Kaesong in the communist controlled
area. After an early breakdown which lasted
more than two months, the talks resumed at
Panmunjom. The fighting continued. Neither
side wanted all-out war during the cease fire
talks, but both sides attempted to consolidate
and improve their positions. The Armistice
negotiations lasted some twenty-four months.
It was during this period that such names as
"Old Baldy," "Heartbreak Ridge, "Pork
Chop Hill," and "The Punch Bowl" marked
the determination of the United Nations Com-
mand forces to hold the line.

AGREEMENT SIGNED

July 27, 1953 Panmunjom . 10:00
a.m. There was none of the thrilling drama of
other peace parleys. The truce building was
constructed in seventy-two hours by a com-
munist work force of some 400 men who work-
ed through the night. The chief negotiators
took ten minutes to sign 18 official copies of
the Korean Armistice Agreement. Without
speaking, communist and UNC represen-
tatives rose, walked out separate doors, and
ended the longest armistice negotiations in
history 500 meetings spread over two years
and 17 days. Several hours later, General
Mark Clark, Commander in Chief of the
United Nations Command, Kim Il Sung of the
north Korean People's Army, and Peng Teh-
Huai of the Chinese People's Volunteers affix-
ed their signatures to the documents at their
individual headquarters behind the lines. At

10:00 p.m. that evening, the truce went into ef-
fect.

The Korean Armistice Agreement is uni-
que. Upon its promulgation, there was no ex-
change of amenities by either side. The condi-
tions of this agreement are intended to be
purely military in character and to pertain
solely to the opposing military forces in
Korea. A unique feature of the Korean Ar-
mistice Agreement is that no nation is a
signatory to the Agreement. The Commander
in Chief, United Nations Command signed the
Armistice Agreement on behalf of the unified
command consisting of the military forces
from 16 member nations and the Republic of
Korea. The Communist commanders signed
the agreement on behalf of the military forces
of north Korea and the Chinese People's
Volunteer forces.

THE TRUCE TERMS

The Korean Armistice Agreement is
primarily a military document; an agreement
between the two sides to end the military con-
flict. However, it does contain a recommenda-
tion for convening a political conference
within three months to discuss the unification
of Korea and the withdrawal of all foreign
troops. Such a conference was held in Geneva
in 1954, nine months after the truce was sign-
ed, but failed. Another attempt was made to
bring about reunification between 1971 and
1973 through a political dialogue between
north and south Korea, but this dialogue also
failed. In 1980, another attempt was made to
resume a political dialogue between north and
south Korea. To date, no mutually acceptable
solution has been reached and Korea remains
divided.

The major provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement:

suspended open hostilities;

withdrew all military forces and equip-
ment from 4,000 meter wide buffer
zone separating the two sides;

arranged release and repatriation of
prisoners of war and displaced per-

sons;

established the Military Armistice Com-
mission and other agencies to nego-
tiate any violations and to insure ad-
herence to the truce terms.

THE DEMILITARIZED ZONE

The Demilitarized Zone winds 151 miles
across the Korean peninsula from the Han
River Estuary in the west to a point well
above the 38th parallel on the east coast.
Down the center of the 4,000 meter wide strip,
largely undeveloped in the years since the
truce was signed, lies the Military Demarca-
tion Line. It is marked by 1,292 markers
printed in Korean and English on the side fac-
ing south and in Korean and Chinese on the
side facing north. This was the line of ground
contact between opposing sides at the moment
the cease fire went into effect. This new fron-
tier provides the Republic of Korea with a
more tenable line of defense than it had in the

years preceding the Korean conflict.

The Armistice Agreement created the
"DMZ" as a buffer zone and required
withdrawal of military equipment and forces.
It limited entrance into the DMZ to those
authorized by the Agreement or approved by
the Military Armistice Commission. Each side
is allowed 1,000 personnel for "civil ad-
ministration and relief" in its half of the zone
at any one time to control and maintain their
respective zone. An additional 24 are permit-
ted in the Han River Estuary to control and
maintain that neutral body of water.