The Korean War began as a civil war fought from 1950–1953 on the Korean Peninsula that was divided by the post-World War II Soviet and American occupation zones. The civil war began on June 25, 1950, when the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea attacked the capitalist Republic of Korea. The civil war was greatly expanded when the United States, and later the Peoples' Republic of China entered the conflict based upon Cold War concerns. The conflict ended when a cease-fire was reached on July 27, 1953.