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North Korea

sovereign state in East Asia

40 dated entries naming North Korea, drawn from 28 separate years between 1018 CE and 2024 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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11th century

  • 1018December – Goryeo–Khitan War: Khitan forces of the Liao dynasty invade Goryeo (North Korea). Goryeo forces led by General Kang Kam-ch'an annihilates the Khitan army at Kusong.source

20th century

  • 1945September 9 – Japanese troops in Keijō (modern-day Seoul) formally relinquish control over Southern Korea to the United States Army Military Government in Korea, while Soviet forces control Northern Korea from Heijō (modern-day Pyongyang), effectively ending 35 years of Korea under Japanese rule and beginning the Division of Korea at the 38th parallel.source
  • 1949October 6 – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) established its first diplomatic and friendly relations with newly proclaimed Communist China (PRC) between the two nations.source
  • 1950June 25 – The Korean War begins: Troops and T-34 tanks of the North Korean People's Army cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.source
  • 1951January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).source
  • 1953July 27 – The Korean War ends, with the Korean Armistice Agreement: The United Nations Command (Korea) (United States), China and North Korea sign an armistice agreement at Panmunjom, and the north remains communist, while the south remains capitalist. No formal peace treaty is ever signed.source
  • 1966November 2 – North Korean commandos ambush a UN command control consisting of 2nd Infantry Division soldiers south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.source
  • 1969April 15 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a US reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.source
  • 1976August 18 – At Panmunjom, North Korea, two United States soldiers are killed while trying to chop down part of a tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which has obscured their view.source
  • 1976December 1 – Laura Ling, American journalist imprisoned by North Korea in 2009source
  • 1977September 19 – North Korean agents abduct Yutaka Kume from Noto Peninsula starting the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens.source
  • 1983July 1 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet, en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea, crashes into the Fouta Djall Mountains of Guinea, killing all 23 people on board.source
  • 1983October 9 – The Rangoon bombing kills South Korea's Foreign Minister, Lee Bum Suk, and 21 others. The perpetrators are believed to be North Koreans.source
  • 1993March 12 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea announces that it plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses to allow inspectors access to nuclear sites, beginning the 1993–94 North Korean Nuclear Crisis.source
  • 1994July 8 – North Korean President Kim Il Sung dies, but officially continues to hold office.source
  • 1998September 5 – The Government of North Korea adopts a military dictatorship on its 50th anniversary. The constitution is amended, and the late Kim Il Sung is enshrined as the eternal President.source

21st century

  • 2005February 10 – North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it says it perceives from the United States.source
  • 2005September 19 – North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.source
  • 2007February 13 – North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.source
  • 2008July 11 – South Korea suspends all trips to North Korea's Mount Kumgang after a 53-year-old South Korean tourist is shot and killed by a North Korean sentry.source
  • 2009April 5 – North Korea launches a rocket from its Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, which it says is carrying the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.source
  • 2009May 25 – North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test in North Hamgyong Province. The United Nations Security Council condemns the reported test.source
  • 2010March 26 – The ROKS Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast, killing 46. In May, an independent investigation blames North Korea, which denies the allegations.source
  • 2010November 23 – North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by South Korea. The incident causes an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompts widespread international condemnation. The United Nations declares it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War.source
  • 2012April 13 – Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the republic.source
  • 2012December 12 – North Korea successfully launches satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2.source
  • 2013February 12 – North Korea conducts its third underground nuclear test, prompting widespread condemnation and tightened economic sanctions from the international community.source
  • 2016February 7 – North Korea launches a reconnaissance satellite named Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into space, it is condemned internationally as a long-range ballistic missile test.source
  • 2016September 9 – The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".source
  • 2017February 11 – North Korea prompts international condemnation by test firing a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.source
  • 2017February 13 – Assassination of Kim Jong-nam: Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the half-brother of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is killed after being attacked by two women with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.source
  • 2017United States Passports become invalid to travel to North Korea, in response to the death of Otto Warmbier.source
  • 2017September 3 – North Korea conducts its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.source
  • 2018April 27 – 2018-19 Korean peace process: Kim Jong Un crosses into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the Demilitarized Zone since its creation in 1953.source
  • 2018May 24 – Foreign journalists report that tunnels in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site have been destroyed by the North Korean government in a move to reduce regional tensions.source
  • 2018May 5 – In North Korea, clocks are adjusted to UTC+9 (GMT+09:00) to the same as South Koreasource
  • 2019June 20–21 – Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a state visit to North Korea. It is his first visit to the country as president and the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese leader since Hu Jintao's visit 14 years prior.source
  • 2020June 16 – North Korea demolishes the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong, established in 2018 to improve relations.source
  • 2021September 14 – North Korea demonstrates two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea demonstrates its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.source
  • 2024December 3 – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law during a late-night address broadcast live on YTN television, accusing the country's main opposition Democratic Party of sympathizing with North Korea and engaging in anti-state activities.source

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