United Nations Security Council Resolution 82

United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 was the Security Council’s immediate response to the North Korean attack on South Korea. It called for hostilities to cease and North Korean forces to withdraw to the 38th parallel; its adoption by a 9–0 vote proceeded without a Soviet vote because the Soviet representative was absent.

Background

The attack took the United States by surprise. Although incidents along the 38th parallel had made Korea a possible flashpoint, it had not ranked high among the many international trouble spots. The resolution emerged as the Security Council acted on the crisis that afternoon.

Adoption and Vote

As Harry S. Truman was being notified of the attack while traveling to Washington, the Security Council adopted an American resolution calling for an immediate end to hostilities and the withdrawal of North Korean forces to the 38th parallel. The vote was 9–0. The Soviet representative had walked out earlier in the year after the Council refused to unseat Nationalist China and had not returned, so there was no Soviet vote or veto.

Provisions and Significance

The measure’s stated demands were immediate and specific: stop the fighting and withdraw North Korean forces to the line dividing North and South Korea. The account presents it as the Security Council’s first institutional response to the attack, but does not describe its enforcement provisions or the North Korean government’s response. Its unanimous recorded vote therefore marks the Council’s call for withdrawal, not evidence that the call ended the hostilities.