1952 – South Korea joins the International Civil Aviation Organization, aligning its civil aviation standards with global norms and facilitating international air traffic. [4]

1969 – North Korean agents hijack a Korean Air flight from Gangneung to Seoul, force it to land in Pyongyang, and later repatriate 39 of the 51 passengers, illustrating Cold‑War‑era political leverage via aviation. [4]

1980 – South Korea participates in the boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics, coordinating with the United States and other allies to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and demonstrating Cold‑War solidarity. [1]

1988 – North Korea announces a boycott of the Seoul Summer Olympics, publicly rejecting South Korea’s hosting of the Games and underscoring the peninsula’s deep political divide. [3]

1990 – The South Korean cabinet passes legislation creating an inter‑Korean cooperation fund to finance economic and social exchanges with the North, establishing a legal framework for future dialogue. [1]

1990 – Seoul hosts the third high‑level inter‑Korean talks, advancing confidence‑building measures and setting the stage for later joint projects. [4]

1995 – South Korean mountaineer Huh Young‑ho reaches the summit of Vinson Massif in Antarctica, marking a national achievement in extreme sports. [4]

2001 – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton expresses regret for the 1950 Nogeun‑ri killings of South Korean civilians by U.S. troops, acknowledging that “unconfirmed” numbers of refugees were killed or injured, a rare admission of wartime wrongdoing. [3]

2003 – Authorities arrest SK Corp. chairman Chey Tae‑won on illegal stock‑trading charges, highlighting governance challenges within South Korea’s chaebol conglomerates. [1]

2005 – North Korean leader Kim Jong‑il tells a Chinese envoy that the DPRK will re‑enter multilateral nuclear negotiations if “unspecified conditions” are met, signalling conditional diplomatic openness. [1]

2006 – Pope Benedict XVI elevates South Korean Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin‑suk to cardinal, raising the profile of Korean Catholic leadership within the global Church. [1]

2006 – Kim Jong‑il visits Shenzhen, China, a rare trip to the country’s economic reform zone, which observers interpret as a sign that North Korea is exploring market‑oriented reforms. [3]

2007 – The two Koreas launch a regular cross‑border train service, the first such connection since the Korean War, enhancing people‑to‑people contact and trade potential. [4]

2007 – North Korea hands over a South Korean fishing boat and its engineer after the vessel strays into North Korean waters in December 2006, a modest de‑escalation gesture. [3]

2008 – Six‑party talks on North Korean denuclearisation fail to produce an inspection agreement, deepening uncertainty about the diplomatic pathway forward. [4]

Mar 2018 – During a Pyongyang visit, Kim Jong‑un declares that “North Korea cannot hand over nuclear weapons to future generations,” emphasizing the regime’s commitment to its nuclear arsenal. [2]

Oct 2018 – South Korea and North Korea agree that Kim Jong‑un will visit Seoul; officials map logistics for a KTX ride, a performance at Gocheok Sky Dome, and a tour of Samsung Electronics, reserving an entire building for security personnel. [2]

Oct 2018 (one day before planned announcement) – North Korea cancels the Seoul visit, citing security concerns and recent drone attacks on foreign leaders; lawmaker Youn says the decision may have averted a no‑deal summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. [2]

2019 – Senior envoys from the United States and North Korea meet in Hanoi to prepare for a second Trump‑Kim summit scheduled for Feb. 27‑28, with Washington demanding a freeze of Pyongyang’s WMD programs. [1]

2022 – North Korea conducts what it calls the “final” test‑firing of a new hypersonic missile, fulfilling a core task from its 2021 eighth party congress to strengthen defense capabilities. [3]