Irish Examiner view: The second hand of destiny is still ticking

Korean War anniversary reminds us how close we came to world war — a risk we are revisiting with Russia's invasion of Ukraine

A North Korean border guard scrutinising the Chinese side of the frontier across the Yalu river near the Chinese city of Dandong. File picture: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty

You would need to be an octogenarian to maintain a clear memory of the last time the armies of the democratic West openly lined up against the forces of China in a shooting war.

Yet while the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War is marked this Thursday, many of the issues it failed to resolve remain live and dangerous to this day. And, at its core, the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is an even greater conundrum now than it was then.