What happened: The rallies marked the 73rd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, when North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt at unification under its command. The three-year war saw the Soviet Union and China back the North, while the U.S. and the rest of the United Nations supported the South. What North Korea is saying: Pyongyang’s version of the Korean War paints the U.S. as responsible for provoking the conflict, which left around 2.5 million people dead.