North Korea–South Korea relations

North Korea–South Korea relations

North Korea	South Korea

North Korea–South Korea relations are the political, diplomatic, and military interactions between North Korea and South Korea, from the division of Korea to today.

The end of Korea under Japanese rule

After the defeat of Japan in World War II, the Korean peninsula was occupied by the Soviet Union in the North and the United States in the South. The dividing line was the 38th parallel.

• August 15, 1945 - Japan surrenders in World War II, marking the end of Korea under Japanese rule
• August 22, 1945 - The Soviet Union enters Pyongyang
• September 8, 1945 - The United States enters Seoul
• 1946 - A US-USSR Joint-Commission on the formation of a Korean Government is dissolved
• 1947 - The United Nations establishes the UN Temporary Commission on Korea
• May 10, 1948 - UN sponsored elections are held in South Korea.
• August 15, 1948 - South Korea is established
• September 9, 1948 - North Korea is established

Establishment of South Korea

South Korean history begins with the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945. A civilian government is established in 1948, beginning the First Republic. Syngman Rhee becomes the first president.

Establishment of North Korea

North Korea is proclaimed on September 11, 1948, under the supervision of the occupying Soviet forces. The Soviets prefer Korean Communists who had spent the war years in the Soviet Union in power, rather than the Korean Communist Party. Kim Il-sung is named head of the North Korean Provisional People's Committee in February 1946. Kim then became Prime Minister, a post which he held until 1972, before becoming President.

Korean War

Main article: Korean War

• June 25, 1950 - the Korean War begins
• July 1950 - UN Forces are formed. UN Forces are driven back to the Pusan Perimeter
• September 1950 - UN Troops make an amphibious Landing at Incheon. UN Forces soon reach the Manchurian border
• November 1950 - Chinese forces enter the war and UN Forces are pushed back to the 38th Parallel
• July 27, 1953 - The Korean Armistice Agreement is signed by UN Forces, North Korea, and China

Cold War

• October 1966 – 1969 - the Korean DMZ Conflict occurs - it is a series of low intensity clashes between North Korean troops infiltrating the DMZ and the South Korean and American forces on the other side
• January 21, 1968 - North Korean agents attempt to attack the South Korean Blue House
• December 11, 1969 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking and kidnapping
• July 4, 1972 - A joint statement is issued
• 1972 - The first Red Cross talks between North and South Korea are held
• August 18, 1976 - There is an Axe murder incident at Panmunjom

Reconciliation and antagonism

• May 1980 - Gwangju Democratization Movement
• October 9, 1983 - Rangoon bombing allegedly orchestrated by North Korea
• 1984 - North Korea's Red Cross provides relief products for South Korean flooding
• 1987 - Bombing of Korean Air Flight 858
• 1988 - The 1988 Summer Olympics take place in Seoul
• September 4 to 7, 1990 - The first high-level talks are held in Seoul
• March 25, 1991 - A unified Korean team first uses the Korean Unification Flag at the World Table Tennis Competition in Japan
• May 6, 1991 - A unified team competes at the World Youth Football Competition in Portugal
• December 13, 1991 - The Agreement on Reconciliation, Non aggression, Exchange and Cooperation is signed between North and South Korea
• 1994 - Kim Jong-il becomes General Secretary of the WPK of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
• June 15, 1999 - The naval conflict at Yeonpyeong

Sunshine policy

Main article: Sunshine Policy

• June 13 to 15, 2000 - The first Inter-Korean Summit, between Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong-il
• August 15, 2000 - First Family Reunion

Six-party talks

Main article: Six-party talks

• June 29, 2002 - naval conflict off the western coast
• July 5, 2006 - North Korea test fires a Daepodong 2 missle
• October 9, 2006 - North Korea nuclear test

Second Summit in 2007

Main article: Inter-Korean Summit

The June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration that the two leaders signed during the first South-North summit stated that they would hold the second summit at an appropriate time. It was originally thought in 2000 that the second summit would be held in South Korea, but that was not to be the case in 2007.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun walked across the Korean Demilitarized Zone on October 2, 2007 and travelled on to Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong-il. During the visit, there were meetings and discussions. The two sides reaffirmed the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration and had discussions on various issues related to realizing the advancement of South-North relations, peace on the Korean Peninsula, common prosperity of the people and the unification of Korea. On October 4, 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed the peace declaration. The document called for international talks to replace the Armistice which ended the Korean War with a permanent peace treaty.

2010 sinking of a South Korean naval vessel

Main article: ROKS Cheonan sinking

On March 26, 2010, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the 1,500-ton ROKS Cheonan with a crew of 104, sank off Baengnyeong island in the Yellow Sea. Seoul said there was an explosion at the stern, and was investigating whether a torpedo attack was the cause. Out of 104 sailors, 46 died and 58 were rescued. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of security officials and ordered the military to focus on rescuing the sailors. During the weeks after the sinking, North Korea expelled South Korean workers from a resort along the DMZ.^{[citation needed]}

On May 20, 2010, a team of international researchers published results claiming that the sinking had been caused by a North Korean torpedo; North Korea rejected the findings. South Korea agreed with the findings from the research group and President Lee Myung-bak declared afterwards that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at striking back at North Korea diplomatically and financially. North Korea responded by severing ties between the countries and announced it abrogated the previous non-aggression agreement.

2010 artillery firing on Big Yeonpyeong

Main article: Bombardment of Yeonpyeong

North Korea's artillery fired at South Korea's Big Yeonpyeong island in the Yellow Sea and South Korea returned fire. Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed, more than a dozen were wounded, including three civilians. The town was evacuated and South Korea warned of stern retaliation, with President Lee Myung-bak ordering the destruction of a nearby North Korea missile base if further provocation should occur.

The official North Korean news agency KCNA stated that North Korea only fired after the South had "recklessly fired into our sea area".

Kidnapping

Main article: North Korean abductions of South Koreans

North Korea had abducted four high-ranking military officers from South Korea in 1999 and this fact was only revealed in 2011.

See also

• Korean reunification
• Inter-Korean Summit
• June 15th North–South Joint Declaration
• Sunshine Policy
• Censorship in North Korea
• Censorship in South Korea
• List of border incidents involving North Korea
• North Korea-South Korea football encounters

External links

• cfr.org
• cfr.org
• ROK and Inter-Korean relations
• Eating the Oxen of the Sun – The Odyssey of Unification
• koreanunification.net
• Inter-Korean tensions: ideology first, at any cost? by Alain Nass (expert on Asia and Korea), Asia & Pacific Network, October 2011