ABSTRACT
From 1966 to 1969, American and South Korean troops fought a series of skirmishes against North Korean soldiers in an undeclared war along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. American and South Korean troops soon began initiating combat operations, rather than waiting to be ambushed. In August North Korean artillery fired on a South Korean army barracks, and communist commandos blew up a train well south of the demilitarized zone. In the Quiet War the North Koreans had the initiative, picking the time and locations of engagements, which the Americans found particularly frustrating. As difficult and dangerous as the Quiet War was for the soldiers fighting and dying in the DMZ, it remained a minor, but troubling issue for the United States. The North Koreans ended the Quiet War for the same mysterious reasons they started the conflict.
