1920 – Korean independence activists found the Korean Aviation School in Willows, California, training pilots who later fight Japanese colonial rule, marking an early effort to build Korean air capability [3].

1965 – South Korea and Japan sign the Treaty on Basic Relations, normalizing diplomatic ties but omitting a Japanese apology for colonial occupation, a lingering source of regional tension [3].

1996 – South Korea and Japan agree on 200‑nautical‑mile Exclusive Economic Zones, establishing fishing quotas and limiting vessel numbers, a framework that shapes current maritime disputes [3].

1997 – Arirang TV launches domestic English‑language broadcasting, expanding South Korea’s international media outreach and soft‑power influence [8].

1999 – The IMF declares South Korea’s economy recovered from the Asian financial crisis, confirming fiscal stability that underpins later defense spending [8].

2003 – A North Korean fighter briefly enters South Korean airspace over the West Sea and withdraws after interception, the first such incursion since 1983, highlighting the volatility of the peninsula’s airspace [3].

2004 – North Korea agrees to new six‑party nuclear talks, involving the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, a diplomatic channel that persists amid later security crises [8].

2018 Sept 19 – South Korea and North Korea sign an inter‑Korean military pact establishing a no‑fly zone (15 km east, 10 km west of the DMZ) to prevent aerial clashes, a confidence‑building measure later suspended [5][6][7].

2023 – North Korea scraps the 2018 pact after South Korea launches a spy‑satellite, and conducts balloon campaigns that raise Seoul’s security concerns [2].

2023 – South Korea imposes independent sanctions on North Korea in response to a long‑range ballistic missile launch and two short‑range missiles, escalating peninsula tensions [3].

2024 Mar – Russian warplanes fly into South Korea’s KADIZ near Ulleung Island and Dokdo, prompting Seoul to dispatch fighter jets for tactical measures without breaching sovereign airspace [1].

2024 Jun – The Yoon Suk‑yeol administration suspends the 2018 no‑fly zone pact, citing North Korean balloon incursions and a spy‑satellite launch that violated UN resolutions [2][4][5].

2024 – Thousands of trainee doctors resign to protest the government’s medical‑reform plan, reflecting broad professional dissent over health‑system changes [3].

2025 – An appellate court upholds Samsung chairman Lee Jae‑yong’s acquittal on accounting‑fraud charges, ending a high‑profile legal battle and signaling corporate‑governance stability [8].

2025 Jun – President Lee Jae‑Myung assumes office and pledges to restore the inter‑Korean no‑fly zone, a promise that North Korean sister Kim Yo‑jong welcomes, saying she “highly appreciates” Seoul’s commitment [2][4].

2025 Sep – South Korean civilians launch drones into North Korean airspace; North Korea condemns the flights as violations of its sovereignty, prompting Seoul to consider stricter penalties [5].

2025 Dec 9 – Two Chinese and seven Russian aircraft briefly enter South Korea’s air‑defence identification zone (KADIZ) over waters east and south of the peninsula; the JCS scrambles fighters, confirms no airspace breach, and notes the pattern of annual joint patrols since 2019 [10][11][12][13].

2025 Dec 10 – South Korea lodges formal protests with Chinese and Russian defense attaches after the same nine aircraft enter KADIZ, reiterating that the zone is not sovereign airspace but must be respected under international law [1][9].

2026 Feb 18 – Unification Minister Chung Dong‑young announces a government review to reinstate the 2018 inter‑Korean no‑fly zone, citing recent civilian drone incursions and emphasizing the goal of preventing accidental military clashes [5][6][7].

2026 Feb 19 – The Defense Ministry declares it will pursue reinstating the no‑fly zone while preserving South Korea’s military‑readiness posture, and begins consultations with the United States after Unification Minister Chung reveals the plan; Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Capt. Jang Do‑young says the military reviews UAV and satellite alternatives but gives no details [2][4].