North Korea–South Korea relations

North Korea–South Korea relations

North Korea	South Korea

North Korea–South Korea relations (Korean: 남북관계, Nambukkwan'gye, hanja:南北關係) are the political, diplomatic, and military interactions between North Korea and South Korea, from the division of Korea in 1945 following World War II to today.

According to a 2013 BBC World Service Poll, 4% of South Koreans view North Korea's influence positively, with 90% expressing a negative view.^[1] However a 2014 government funded survey found only 13% of South Koreans viewed North Korea as hostile, and 58% of South Koreans believed North Korea was a country they should cooperate with.^[2]

History

The end of Korea under Japanese rule

The Korean peninsula had been occupied by Japan from 1910 to 1945. 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 north.

• August 15, 1945 - Japan surrenders in World War II and relinquished power in countries that were taken by force, 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 - The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is established
• September 9, 1948 - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established

Establishment of South Korea

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

Establishment of North Korea

North Korea was proclaimed on September 11 in 1948, under the supervision of the occupying Soviet forces. The Soviets preferred Korean Communists who had spent the war years in the Soviet Union in power, rather than the Communist Party of Korea. 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

• 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, but not by South Korea

Cold War

• October 1966 – 1969 - the Korean DMZ Conflict occurs - it is a series of low-intensity clashes from both North Korean and South Korean troops infiltrating the DMZ^[3][4]
• 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
• August 1971^[5] - The first Red Cross talks between North and South Korea are held
• July 4, 1972 - North-South Joint Statement is issued. The statement announced the Three Principles of Reunification: first, reunification must be solved independently without interference from or reliance on foreign powers; second, reunification must be realized in a peaceful way without use of armed forces against each other; finally,reunification transcend the differences of ideologies and institutions to promote the ethnic unification of Korea as one ethnic group.^[5]
• 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
• 1985 - The first family reunion^[6]
• 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

• June 13 to 15, 2000 - The first Inter-Korean Summit, between Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong-il
• August 15, 2000 - The first family reunion from the Sunshine Policy^[6]

Six-party talks

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

Second Summit in 2007

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.^{[7][8][9][10]} 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.^[11]

2010s

2010: Sinking of a South Korean naval vessel

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.^[12][13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15] North Korea denied all such allegations and responded by severing ties between the countries and announced it abrogated the previous non-aggression agreement.^[16]

2010: Bombardment of Yeonpyeong islands

On November 23, North Korea's artillery fired at South Korea's 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.^[17]

The official North Korean news agency, KCNA, stated that North Korea only fired after the South had "recklessly fired into our sea area".^[18]

Kidnapping

In 2011 it was revealed that North Korea abducted four high-ranking South Korean military officers in 1999.^[19]

2012: North Korea launches satellite

On December 12, North Korea launched the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2, a scientific and technological satellite, and it reached orbit.^[20][21][22] The United States moved warships to the region.^[23]

2013

January-September 2013 saw an escalation of tensions between North Korea and South Korea, the United States, and Japan that began because of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2087, which condemned North Korea for the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2. The crisis was marked by extreme escalation of rhetoric by the new North Korean administration under Kim Jong-un and actions suggesting imminent nuclear attacks against South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

2014

On March 24 a crashed North Korean drone was found near Paju, the onboard cameras contained pictures of the Blue House and military installations near the DMZ. On March 31, following an exchange of artillery fire into the waters of the NLL, a North Korean drone was found crashed on Baengnyeongdo.^[24][25] On September 15, wreckage of a suspected North Korean drone was found by a fisherman in the waters near Baengnyeongdo, the drone was reported to be similar to one of the North Korean drones which had crashed in March 2014.^[26]

2015

On January 1, 2015, Kim Jong-un, in his New Year's address to the country, stated that he was willing to resume higher-level talks with the South despite recent controversy over a film called The Interview that takes a derogatory stance towards Kim. ^[27]

See also

• Censorship in North Korea
• Censorship in South Korea
• June 15th North–South Joint Declaration
• Korean reunification
• Northern Limit Line
• List of border incidents involving North Korea
• North Korea–South Korea football rivalry

References

External links

• Inter-Korean Relations: Past, Present and Future (Introduction) - cfr.org
• Inter-Korean Relations: Past, Present and Future (Panel 1) - 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

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