[3] During the course of the war, 22 nations contributed military or medical personnel to UN Command;[1] although the United States led the UNC and provided the bulk of its troops and funding, all participants formally fought under the auspices of the UN,[4] with the operation classified as a "UN-led police action".

Duty officers from both sides of the Joint Security Area (commonly known as the Truce Village of Panmunjom) conduct daily communications checks and have the ability to engage face-to-face when the situation demands.

[2] While the UN had some military authority through Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, early Cold War tensions meant that the forces envisaged in those articles had yet to become reality.

In JENNINGS v. MARKLEY, WARDEN, a determination was made by the Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit that American soldiers of the UNC were still liable to the Uniform Code of Military Justice although they fought under the UN blue flag.

[13] Two days later, the UNSC adopted Resolution 83, recommending that members of the United Nations provide assistance to the Republic of Korea "to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area".

On 29 June 1950, New Zealand made preparations to dispatch two Loch class frigates, Tutira and Pukaki, to Korean waters;[15] on 3 July, the ships left Devonport Naval Base, Auckland and joined other Commonwealth forces at Sasebo, Japan on 2 August.

By 1 September 1950, less than two months before the formation of United Nations Command, these combined forces numbered 180,000, of which 92,000 were South Koreans, with most of the remainder being Americans, followed by the 1,600-man British 27th Infantry Brigade.

Rockoff writes that "President Truman responded quickly to the June invasion by authorizing the use of U.S. troops and ordering air strikes and a naval blockade.

"[19] Cohen writes that: "All of Truman's advisers saw the events in Korea as a test of American will to resist Soviet attempts to expand their power, and their system.

After the armistice was signed, John E. Hull was named UNC commander to carry out the ceasefire (including the voluntary repatriation of prisoners of war).

Much of the fifties was marked by continuous negotiations in Military Armistice Commission meetings while the international community worked to bolster South Korea's economy and infrastructure.

During this period, North Korea maintained economic and military superiority over its southern neighbor owing to Chinese and Soviet support.

The collapse of the Soviet Union also led North Korea to question the alignment of their choices for the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

In between 1998 and 2003, several of the original contributors to the Korean War began deploying personnel to Korea to support UNC's armistice maintenance functions.

[29][30][31][32] Succeeding him was Australian Vice Admiral Stuart Mayer, and the Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison of the British Army, continuing the trend of non-American leadership in UNC.

[33] To further the September 2018 inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement, UN Command, Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and North Korean People's Army officials met in a series of negotiations to deliberate the demilitarization of the Joint Security Area.

For undisclosed reasons, the North Korean side refused to meet to finalize these rules and the next step for realizing a demilitarized Joint Security Area.