ABSTRACT
Helen Kyungsook Daniels was just sixteen years old in December 1950 when she fled her home in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. The Korean War is central to understanding United States (US)-China relations during the Cold War. It escalated already rising tensions between the two nations as US and Chinese soldiers, the major combatants on either side, fought one another in brutal battles. In summer 1953, US, Chinese, and Korean officials met high up in the Korean mountains of Panmunjeom to bring an end to years of warfare. The consequences of the Korean War for US-China relations were wide reaching and devastating. The anti-American campaign also became a central component of Mao’s industrial state-building. As the Korean War intensified tensions, the United States cut off all trade ties with China. China moreover pressured the United Kingdom, Japan, and European Economic Community to remove the Korean War trade restrictions.
