List of wars involving North Korea

This is a list of wars involving North Korea.

Conflict	Joseon Dynasty and allies	Opponents	Results	Monarch of Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Second Tsushima Expedition (1396)	Joseon Dynasty	Tsushima Province	Victory Resulted in yearly tributes by Tsushima.	King Taejong
Third Tsushima Expedition (1419)	Joseon Dynasty	Tsushima Province	Victory Discrepancy on which side had actually won.	King Sejong
Joseon Northern Expedition (1443)	Joseon Dynasty	Jianzhou Jurchens	Victory Led to establishment of present-day northern borders.	King Sejong
Sampo Invasion (1510)	Joseon Dynasty	Tsushima Province Japanese pirates	Victory Joseon broke all diplomatic relations with Japan after the incident.	King Jungjong
First Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-1593)	Joseon Dynasty Righteous Army Ming Dynasty	Azuchi-Momoyama Japan	Stalemate Joseon, despite its strategic advantage, suffered heavy casualties due to an inefficient military system.	King Seonjo
Second Japanese invasion of Korea (1597-1598)	Joseon Dynasty Righteous Army Ming Dynasty	Azuchi-Momoyama Japan	Japanese Withdrawal Asia's first regional warfare that involved intensive use of modern-era weapons.	King Seonjo
Ming-Manchu War (1618-1683)	Ming Dynasty Joseon Dynasty Kumul Khanate Turfan Khanate	Manchus	Defeat Joseon helped the Ming dynasty in the Battle of Sarhu.	Gwanghaegun
First Manchu invasion of Korea (1627)	Joseon Dynasty	Later Jin dynasty	Defeat Was spurred by actions of Mao Wenlong, a Ming commander who operated off islands of Korea.	King Injo
Second Manchu invasion of Korea (1636-1637)	Joseon Dynasty	Qing dynasty	Defeat Brought forth the idea of Punitive North Expedition in Joseon.	King Injo
Russian-Manchu border conflicts (1652-1689)	Qing dynasty Joseon Dynasty	Tsardom of Muscovy 20px Cossacks	Victory Part of Russia's expansion into Siberia.	King Hyojong
French campaign against Korea (1866)	Joseon Dynasty	Second French Empire	French Withdrawal Spurred by Joseon's execution of French Catholic priests on the same year.	Heungseon Daewongun
United States expedition to Korea (1871)	Joseon Dynasty	United States	United States withdrawal United States diplomatic failure Spurred by Joseon's unknown treatment of the American merchant ship General Sherman.	Heungseon Daewongun
Ganghwa Island incident (1875)	Joseon Dynasty	Empire of Japan	Defeat Joseon was forced to sign Treaty of Ganghwa on 1876.	King Gojong
Imo Incident (1882)	Joseon Dynasty	Korean military dissidents, mostly from the Central Defense Command	Victory Spurred by Central Defense Command receiving significantly worse treatment compared to the newly established "Byolkigun".	King Gojong
Gapsin Coup (1884)	Joseon Dynasty Supported by Qing dynasty	Reformist Faction Supported by Empire of Japan	Gapsin Coup overthrown Resulted in Chinese dominance within Korean politics.	King Gojong
Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894-1895)	Joseon Dynasty	Donghak Peasant's Army	Victory Resulted in First Sino-Japanese War.	King Gojong
Conflict	Korean Empire and allies	Opponents	Results	Emperor of Korean Empire
Korean Empire
Eulsa Righteous War (1905)	Korean Empire	Empire of Japan	Defeat Reaction to Eulsa Protective Treaty, which made the Korean Empire a Protectorate of Japan.	Emperor Gwangmu
Jeungmi Righteous War (1907)	Korean Empire Righteous Army	Empire of Japan	Defeat Reaction to the forced dissolution of the Korean Imperial Army.	Emperor Yunghui
Great Korean Militia Roundup Campaign (1909)	Righteous Army	Empire of Japan	Defeat Most battles were around the Southern Korea region of Jeolla.	Empeor Yunghui
Conflict	Provisional Government of Korea and allies	Opponents	Results	Leader of Provisional Government
Provisional Government of Korea
Bongoh town Battle (1920)	Korean Liberation Army	Empire of Japan	Victory One of earlier Korean independence movements.	President Syngman Rhee
Battle of Chongsanli (1920)	Korean Liberation Army	Empire of Japan	Victory Referred in Korea as "Great victory of Chongsanli".	President Syngman Rhee
Massacre of Svobodny (1921)	Korean Liberation Army	Far Eastern Republic	Defeat Most of initial Korean militia was destroyed during the massacre.	President Syngman Rhee
South-East Asian theatre of World War II (1942-1945)	British Empire United Kingdom British India British Burma Gambia Gold Coast Kenya Colony Nigeria Northern Rhodesia Nyasaland Southern Rhodesia Uganda Protectorate Belgian Congo Republic of China Korean Liberation Army United States Free Thai Movement	Empire of Japan State of Burma Azad Hind Thailand	Victory The KLA fought in the Burma Campaign.	Premier Kim Gu
Conflict	South Korea and allies	Opponents	Results	President of South Korea
Republic of Korea
Korean War (1950–1953)	South Korea United States United Nations Command United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Ethiopia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg	North Korea North Korea China People's Republic of China	Ceasefire Cease-fire armistice; North Korean invasion of South Korea repelled, UN invasion of North Korea repelled, Chinese invasion of South Korea repelled. Korean Demilitarized Zone established, little territorial change at the 38th parallel border.	Syngman Rhee
Second Korean War (1966–1969)	South Korea United States	North Korea	Victory North Korean failure to instigate an armed insurgency in South Korea	Park Chung-hee
Vietnam War (1964–1973)	South Vietnam United States South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand Kingdom of Laos Khmer Republic	North Vietnam Viet Cong Khmer Rouge Khmer Issarak Pathet Lao North Korea China	Defeat Withdrawal of American forces from Indochina. Dissolution of the Republic of Vietnam. Communist governments take power in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

Conflict	North Korea and allies	Opponents	Results	North Korean losses		Leader of North Korea
				Military	Civilian
Korean War (1950–1953)	North Korea China Soviet Union	South Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Ethiopia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg	Ceasefire Cease-fire armistice; North Korean invasion of South Korea repelled, UN invasion of North Korea repelled, Chinese invasion of South Korea repelled. Korean Demilitarized Zone established, little territorial change at the 38th parallel border.	215,000– 350,000	1,550,000	Kim Il-sung
Simba Rebellion (1964)	Simba rebels Military advisors: Cuba Tanganyika Soviet Union China North Korea	Congo-Léopoldville Combat Support: Belgium United States	Defeat (limited involvement) Rebellion defeated.	Unknown	None
Communist insurgency in Thailand (1965–1983)	Communist Party of Thailand Thai United Patriotic Front Weapons and advisors North Vietnam (until 1976) Vietnam (from 1976) China Pathet Lao Khmer Rouge North Korea	Thailand Taiwan (until 1967) United States Malaysia	Defeat (limited involvement) Defeat of communist insurgency.	Unknown	~120
Vietnam War (1967–1969)	North Vietnam FNL Khmer Rouge Pathet Lao North Korea China	South Vietnam United States South Korea Australia New Zealand Thailand Philippines Kingdom of Laos Khmer Republic	Victory (in 1975) Withdrawal of American forces from Indochina. Dissolution of the Republic of Vietnam. Communist governments take power in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos	Unknown	None
Second Korean War (1966–1969)	North Korea	South Korea United States	Defeat North Korean failure to instigate an armed insurgency in South Korea	2,871	Unknown
Yom Kippur War (1973)	Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Algeria Morocco Tunisia Cuba North Korea	Israel	Defeat Syrian invasion of Israel repelled. Israel–Syria Disengagement Agreement Geneva Conference and the Sinai II Agreement. Strategic political gains for Egypt and Israel	None	None
Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991)	Derg (1974-1987) People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991) Cuba North Korea	EPRP TPLF MEISON (from 1977) EPDM EDU EPLF	Defeat Fall of Communist government Independence of Eritrea Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country	Unknown	None
Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)	UNITA FNLA FLEC South Africa (1975-89) Zaire (1975) North Korea	MPLA SWAPO MK Cuba (1975-91) East Germany (1975-89) Soviet Union (1975-89) EO (1992-95)	Defeat Withdrawal of all foreign forces in 1989 Transition towards a multiparty political system in 1991/92 Dissolution of the armed forces of FNLA Participation of UNITA and FNLA, as political parties, in the new political system, from 1991/92 onwards, but civil war continues Jonas Savimbi killed in 2002 Immediate peace agreement and dissolution of the armed forces of UNITA in 2002 Resistance of FLEC continued beyond 2002	Unknown	Unknown
Yemeni Civil War (1994)	Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) Supported by: Saudi Arabia Iraq Libya North Korea	Republic of Yemen (North Yemen) Supported by: United States Egypt	Defeat (limited involvement) Reunification under northern government Purge of Yemeni socialism and the left Further tension in Yemen eventually leads to Yemeni Crisis	Unknown	Unknown

External links

The Korean War:

• Korean War resources, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• North Korea International Documentation Project
• Grand Valley State University Veteran's History Project digital collection
• The Forgotten War, Remembered – four testimonials in The New York Times
• Collection of Books and Research Materials on the Korean War an online collection of the United States Army Center of Military History
• The Korean War at History.com
• Korean-War.com
• Koreanwar-educator.org