Korean civilian casualties - dead, wounded and missing - totalled between three and four million during the three years of war (1950-1953). The war was disastrous for all of Korea, destroying most of its industry. North Korea fell into poverty and could not keep up with South Korea's economic pace.
The fighting ended with a ceasefire, but there was no permanent peace treaty. The effect of the war was to create a heavily fortified border zone still closely guarded by both sides today. The war intensified the Cold War and extended it beyond Europe.
The Korean War was an important development in the Cold War because it was the first time that the two superpowers , the United States and the Soviet Union, had fought a 'proxy war ' in a third country. The proxy war or 'limited war ' strategy would be a feature of other Cold War conflicts, for example the Vietnam War.
Today, historians generally agree on several main causes of the Korean War, including: the spread of communism during the Cold War, American containment, and Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II.
US military spending increased dramatically as a result of the Korean War, 5 times larger than it had previously been. China emerged as major world power with Soviet military supplies they were a force to be reckoned with. USA and USSR were able to avoid direct confrontation and a nuclear conflict.
The Korean War was a proxy war for the Cold War. The West—the United Kingdom and the U.S., supported by the United Nations—supported South Korea, while communist China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea.
Korean War, conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in which at least 2.5 million persons lost their lives. The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South.
Who Won the Korean War? Neither side actually won the Korean War. In fact, the war goes on to this day, since the combatants never signed a peace treaty. South Korea did not even sign the Armistice agreement of July 27, 1953, and North Korea repudiated the armistice in 2013.