The result of the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, was a stalemate and an armistice agreement, rather than a formal peace treaty. The conflict resulted in the Korean Peninsula remaining divided at the 38th parallel, with North Korea becoming a communist regime and South Korea a capitalist state. While the war led to massive casualties and destruction, it solidified the division and heightened tensions during the Cold War era. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) established remains one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world, and the absence of a peace treaty has left the two Koreas in a state of conflict to this day.