ANNIVERSARY – Today marks the 68th anniversary of the Korean War.  On June 25th, 1950, North Korean troops, backed completely by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. 

President Truman, using his authority as commander-in-chief, immediately committed American air and naval forces in an effort to turn back the invasion, even though South Korea had never been a formal part of the American defense line in the Pacific.  The United States was also able to get a resolution through the UN Security Council authorizing armed resistance to the attack.  The Soviet Union was boycotting the Council for an unrelated reason, and, in a major diplomatic blunder, did not show up to veto the resolution.

And thus an international force, including thousands of American ground troops, was formed under the command of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.

The war went on for slightly more than three years.  It had, for our side, advances and reversals.  The Chinese entered on the enemy side.   The fighting was bitter.  The United States alone lost almost 37,000 troops, both in battle and from other causes.  We are often told that the war ended in a stalemate, but that simply is not accurate.  The North Korean/Soviet invasion was successfully repelled, at great cost, which is why there is a South Korea today.  We achieved our objective. 

There was never a formal ending to the Korean War.  There was simply a truce agreement signed in July of 1953.  Technically, we are still in a state of war with North Korea, through our participation in, and leadership of, the UN forces.

We are now, under President Trump, addressing the Korean peninsula issue more seriously than we ever have.  One objective of the president's new, tentative relationship with North Korea, is to bring a formal end to the war.  It is reported that the first gesture toward that will soon occur when, if the promise is kept, North Korea returns the remains of American war dead that they've been holding since 1953.  I would expect a formal, solemn ceremony to be held welcoming home these soldiers, whose accomplishments in battle remain effective to this day. 

Then, we will start the process, under Secretary of State Pompeo, of demanding the complete denuclearization of North Korea.  A timeline will be set, and North Korea, to receive relief from sanctions, will have to meet every stage of that timeline.  That is President Trump's policy, and we expect it to be carried out.

June 25,  2018