June 25 is the day when the Korean war (June 1950-July 1953) broke out.
The war was the most terrible and trying ordeal for the Korean people, a matter of life and death. The fledgling DPRK founded on September 9, 1948 had to take on the US imperialists, who boasted of being the “strongest” in the world, and their allied forces.    
After starting the war, the US mobilized as many as two million troops, including one-third of its army, one-fifth of its air force, most of its Pacific fleet, plus troops of its 15 vassal states, ROK army and remnants of the former Japanese imperial army. It committed over 73 million tons of materiel and 20 billion dollars to war efforts.
During the three-year war, the US dropped about 600 000 tons of bombs on towns and villages of the DPRK, and had no scruples about using biological and chemical weapons. 
The Korean war greatly outstripped all the preceding wars in the world, in terms of the density of troops and firing equipment the US hurled, and barbarity, ferocity and cruelty it employed in warfare. 
At that time many around the world were deeply concerned about the destiny of the young DPRK against the US, which had emerged as the boss of the capitalist world after the Second World War with the greatest power in the economy, technology and military forces. 
However, the Korean People’s Army inflicted an ignominious defeat upon the US-led aggressors and won a brilliant victory under the outstanding leadership of Supreme Commander Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) endowed with great courage and acumen. 
During the war the KPA killed or captured a total of 1 567 128 troops including 405 498 GIs and seized or destroyed a huge amount of combat equipment and materiel including 12 224 aircrafts, 564 warships and vessels, 3 255 tanks and armoured vehicles, 13 350 trucks and 7 695 pieces of artillery.
Later, US historians described the loss as “mind-boggling” in recognition of the defeat.