Since 1954, there have been a few attempts to negotiate a formal treaty between the United States and North Korea—one that might end the presence of soldiers in the demilitarized zone, say. Notably, in 1974, the North Koreans tried to negotiate bilaterally with the United States—that is, without input from South Korea. They proposed a withdrawal of U.S. forces from the south and the end to foreign military bases on the peninsula, among other measures. But this request and subsequent ones never came to f

© 1996-2018 National Geographic Society.The armistice line meanders in an east-west fashion Korea, connecting what Koreans call the East Sea with Gyeonggi Bay, 148 miles (238 kilometers) away off the peninsula&aposs west coast.

© 1996-2018 National Geographic Society.

At about 4 a.m., the marines reached the first pontoon bridge, a rickety affair thirty inches wide with a guide rope strung along posts at knee height. They could see only halfway across before the bridge disappeared into the mist. Beyond, nothing was visible but the flash of enemy guns. The marines began piling up at the bridgehead, awaiting orders. A major blew a whistle and stepped onto the As the men crowded behind him, the pontoons began to sink below the water sloshing about the men’s ankles. Th