The year 2020 marks the 70th year of an ongoing war between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK - otherwise known as North Korea) and the United States of America, which from its outset in June 1950 saw three years of open hostilities and has continued under a fragile armistice for 67 years since. This conflict representsis the longest conflict between any two modern industrial nations in history, and by far the longest war in U.S. history - beginning just months after the outbreak of the Cold War with the Soviet Union and the formation of the People's Republic of China and continuing long after hostilities with both these larger states subsided. The U.S. has since 1950 waged well over a dozen other hot wars from Panama and Grenada to Iraq and Somalia, all of which were very distinct in their nature from that which took place in Korea and could be concluded far more quickly. The open hostilities between North Korea and the United States from 1950 to 1953 represents the only major conventional ground war waged between Western and East Asian powers since the mid-19th Century. To a greater extent than any other Cold War conflict, its legacy continues to have reverberations far across the entire Asia-Pacific region and the wider world. A unique aspect of the U.S.-North Korean conflict from its outset has been its comprehensive nature - and the considerable ideological and cultural disparity between the two actors. The northern half of Korea is one of very few inhabited parts of the world never to have been placed under Western rule, and has evolved to present one of the most consistent challenges to the Western dominated order not only politically and militarily but also ideologically. The identity of the Korean state north of the 38th parallel and its deep cultural and ideological roots - Confucian, socialist and otherwise - means it represents an entirely unique form of adversary for America which has proven considerably more difficult to tackle than almost any other. While conflict has been continuous over seven decades, the way it has been waged has changed considerably over time - from open warfare in the early 1950s to low level provocations and brinkmanship the following decade and with a greater focus on economic and information warfare today. This work will attempt to comprehensively explore the nature of conflict between the United States and the DPRK, the way it has been waged and evolved over seven decades, and the intentions of both. Excerpted from Immovable Object: North Korea's 70 Years at War with the United States by A. B. Abrams All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
