"The first twelve months of the Korean War (June 1950-June 1951) had been characterized by dramatic changes in the battlefront as the opposing armies swept up and down the length of the Korean peninsula. This war of movement virtually ended on 10 July 1951, when representatives from the warring parties met in a restaurant in Kaesong to negotiate an end to the war. Although the two principal parties to the conflict -- the governments of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) -- were more than willing to fight to the death, their chief patrons -- The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union the one hand and the United States and the United Nations (UN) on the other -- were not. Twelve months of bloody fighting had convinced Mao Tse-tung, Joseph V. Stalin, and Harry S. Truman that it was not longer in their respective national interests to try and win a total victory in Korea. The costs in terms of men and materiel were too great, as were the risks that the conflict might escalate into a wider, global conflagration. Consequently, they compelled their respective Korean allies to accept a truce talks as the price for their continued military, economic, and diplomatic support"--Page [3].