" Korean Armistice Agreement " is the full name of "The Agreement on the Korean Military Armistice between the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces on the other hand". It was signed in Panmunjom, North Korea on July 27, 1953 and came into effect on that day. The Agreement stipulates that all provisions shall remain in force until they are amended or supplemented by mutually acceptable amendments and additions to the Agreement, or expressly replaced by provisions in an appropriate agreement on a peaceful settlement at the political level between the Parties.
The "Agreement" includes a preamble and 5 articles and 63 paragraphs, and is accompanied by " Terms of Reference of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission " and " Temporary Supplementary Agreement on the Armistice Agreement ". The main content includes: determining a military demarcation line, from which each side will retreat 2 kilometers, and establishing a demilitarized zone as a buffer zone. The commanders of both sides order and guarantee that all armed forces under their control will completely cease all hostilities 12 hours after the signing of the agreement; within 72 hours after the agreement takes effect, all military forces, supplies and equipment will be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone; within 10 days after the agreement takes effect, all military forces, supplies and equipment will be withdrawn from the rear of North Korea and coastal islands and seas; and military reinforcements to North Korea will be stopped. Each side appointed five senior officers to form a "Military Armistice Commission" to supervise the implementation of the agreement and negotiate and deal with any violations of the agreement; Poland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Switzerland each sent one senior officer to form the "Neutral Nations Supervisory Committee", which was responsible for supervising, observing, inspecting and investigating rear ports and the demilitarized zone. Within 60 days after the agreement comes into effect, all parties shall directly repatriate all prisoners of war in their custody who insist on repatriation in batches without any obstruction; prisoners of war who have not been directly repatriated shall be handed over to the "Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission" composed of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and India; the two sides established a "Prisoner of War Repatriation Commission", a "Joint Red Cross Group" and a "Committee to Assist the Return of Displaced Civilians", respectively responsible for coordinating all matters related to the repatriation of prisoners of war and specific plans for the return of civilians. It is recommended that a high-level political meeting between the two sides be convened within three months after the agreement takes effect to discuss matters such as the withdrawal of all foreign troops from North Korea and the peaceful settlement of the North Korean issue.
The signing of the "Korean Armistice Agreement" marked the end of the Korean War that lasted for more than three years in the form of an armistice. However, the high-level political meeting proposed in the agreement could not be held as scheduled due to obstruction by the United States. In October 1953, the United States and South Korea signed the " U.S.-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty" and continued to retain troops in South Korea. The Geneva Conference held in 1954 also failed to reach an agreement on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the Korean Peninsula and the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. After consultation and agreement between the governments of North Korea and China, the Chinese People's Volunteers all withdrew from North Korea at the end of 1958.
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