Given the protracted conclusion of the war, who would you consider its winners in 1953? How about 2017?

In my opinion, looking through the lens of self-interests, everyone except for Russia was a winner in 1953. The U.S. was able to help South Korea retain the land below 38th parallel and continue to establish presence and influence in South Korea. China achieved its objectives too, which were to prevent North Korea from falling and maintain a buffer zone from western influence. Additionally, through sending its troops to the war, Chinese communist government was able to solidify its military control as many of the troops China sent were originally from Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist army. North Korea, although lost many lives, was able to retain the lands that are rich in resources. South Korea was able to retaliate and gained an opportunity to grow its economy with the help from the U.S. Russia (then the Soviet Union), however, did not achieve its objective to unify the entire Korean peninsula under Kim regime and greatly spoiled the relationship with its communist neighbor, China.

In 2017, the Kim Regime is still a winner because it is still successful in maintaining its brutal totalitarianism. However, as a country, DPRK is the biggest loser as its people are unimaginably oppressed and persecuted. Both China and Russia continue to use DPRK as a buffer zone and benefit from unfair trades with North Korea (buying coal from nK for ridiculously cheap and selling oil to nK for a great price). The U.S. continues to maintain presence and alliance with South Korea.