WASHINGTON — Sixty years ago this month, the North Korean People’s Army, enticed by the Truman administration’s announcement that Korea was no longer within the “U.S. defensive perimeter,” launched a surprise attack across the 38th parallel — the arbitrary demarcation line drawn by the United Nations between the Republic of Korea and the communist north, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The onslaught was so successful that in a matter of just three days, Seoul was captured and the poorly trained and equipped ROK military was smashed. Hundreds of American advisers and hastily deployed reinforcements were killed, captured or listed as missing in action. By mid-July, the remnants of U.S. and ROK forces were driven into a tiny defensive perimeter around the port of Pusan.
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