History of Korea
Prehistory  Jeulmun period  Mumun period Gojoseon 2333-108 BC  Jin state Proto-Three Kingdoms: 108-57 BC  Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye  Samhan: Ma, Byeon, Jin Three Kingdoms: 57 BC - 668 AD  Goguryeo 37 BC - 668 AD   Sui wars  Baekje 18 BC - 660 AD  Silla 57 BC - 935 AD  Gaya 42-562 North-South States: 698-935  Unified Silla 668-935  Balhae 698-926 Later Three Kingdoms 892-935 Goryeo 918-1392  Khitan wars  Mongol invasions Joseon 1392-1897  Japanese invasions 1592-1598  Manchu invasions Korean Empire 1897–1910 Japanese rule 1910–1945  Provisional Gov't 1919-1948 Division of Korea 1945–1948 North, South Korea 1948–present  Korean War 1950–1953
List of monarchs Timeline Military history Naval history Science and technology in Korea
Korea Portal This box: view • talk • edit

For the history of Korea before its division, see History of Korea. The history of Korea stretches from Lower Paleolithic times to the present Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. This article is about the prehistory of the Korean Peninsula, from circa 500000 BCE through 300 BCE The Jeulmun Pottery Period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 8000-1500 B The Mumun pottery period is an Archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom considered the first proper nation of the Korean people. Jin state was an early Iron Age state which occupied some portion of the southern Korean peninsula during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE bordering the Korean Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea refers to the period after the fall of Gojoseon and before the maturation of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla into Buyeo, Puyŏ, or Fuyu was an ancient Korean kingdom located from today's Manchuria to northern North Korea, from around the 2nd Okjeo was a small tribal state which arose in the northern Korean peninsula from perhaps 2nd century BCE to 5th century CE Dongye was a state which occupied portions of the northeastern Korean peninsula from roughly 150 BCE to around 400 CE Samhan refers to the ancient confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula Mahan was a loose confederacy of statelets that existed from around the 100BCE-300CE in the southern Korean peninsula in the Chungcheong Byeonhan, also known as Byeonjin, was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the beginning of the Common Era to the 4th century in the Jinhan was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century CE in the southern Korean peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong The Three Kingdoms of Korea ( refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula Goguryeo or Koguryo was an ancient Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, southern Manchuria, and Baekje (18 BCE – 660 CE or Paekche, was a kingdom located in southwest Korea Silla (57 BC – 935 AD was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Gaya was a confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan North South States Period ( 698 CE - 936 CE refers to the period in Korean history when Silla and Balhae Unified Silla ( 668 CE - 935 CE or Later Silla is the name often applied to the kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Alternate meaning Bohai Sea Balhae (698 - 926 ( Bohai in Chinese, Пархэ in Russian) was an The Later Three Kingdoms of Korea (892 - 936 consisted of Silla, Hubaekje ("Later Baekje " and Taebong (also known as Hugoguryeo The Goryeo Dynasty ( 918 - 1392) (also spelled Koryŏ was a Sovereign state established in 918 by Taejo Wang Kon. The Mongol invasions of Korea (1231 - 1273 consisted of a series of campaigns by the Mongol Empire against Korea, then known as Goryeo, from 1231 to 1259 Two Japanese invasions of Korea and subsequent battles on the Korean peninsula took place during the years 1592-1598 The First Manchu invasion of Korea occurred in 1627 when Hong Taiji led the Manchu army against Korea 's Joseon dynasty. The Korean Empire was a former small empire of Korea that lasted from the Gwangmu Restoration of 1897 until Japan 's annexation of Korea in 1910 Korea under Japanese rule refers to the period between 1910 and 1945 when Korea was forcibly annexed by the Japanese Empire. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was a Government in exile based in Shanghai, China and later in Chongqing, during the The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan For the history of the Korea before its division, see History of Korea. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the The Korean Dynasties are listed in the order of their fall This list includes the monarchs' romanized posthumous or Temple names and reign dates This is a Timeline of the History of Korea. Some dates prior to the 6th century CE are speculative or approximate Korea ' s military history spans back thousands of years beginning with the kingdom of Gojoseon and its repulsions of ancient China The naval history of Korea dates back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea period when simple fishing ships were used Like most other regions in the world science and technology in Korea has experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan The history of Korea stretches from Lower Paleolithic times to the present

The history of North Korea formally begins with the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia,

In the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Korea which ended with Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel in accordance with a United Nations arrangement, to be administered by the Soviet Union in the north and the United States in the south. Korea under Japanese rule refers to the period between 1910 and 1945 when Korea was forcibly annexed by the Japanese Empire. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Soviets and Americans were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea. This led in 1948 to the establishment of separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea.

The early years

Kim's government moved rapidly to establish a political system that was partly styled on the Soviet system, with political power monopolised by the WPK. The establishment of a command economy followed. A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. Most of the country's productive assets had been owned by the Japanese or by Koreans who had been collaborators. The nationalization of these assets in 1946 placed 70% of industry under state control. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government By 1949 this percentage had risen to 90%. Since then, virtually all manufacturing, finance and internal and external trade has been conducted by the state.

In agriculture, the government moved more slowly towards a command economy. The "land to the tiller" reform of 1946 redistributed the bulk of agricultural land to the poor and landless peasant population, effectively breaking the power of the landed class. In 1954, however, a partial collectivization was carried out, with peasants being urged, and often forced, into agricultural co-operatives. Collective farming is an organization of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise By 1958, virtually all farming was being carried out collectively, and the co-operatives were increasingly merged into larger productive units.

Like all the postwar communist states, North Korea undertook massive state investment in heavy industry, state infrastructure and military strength, neglecting the production of consumer goods. Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system By paying the collectivized peasants low state-controlled prices for their product, and using the surplus thus extracted to pay for industrial development, the state carried out a series of three-year plans, which brought industry's share of the economy from 47% in 1946 to 70% in 1959, despite the devastation of the Korean War. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the There were huge increases in electricity production, steel production and machine building. The large output of tractors and other agricultural machinery achieved a great increase in agricultural productivity.

The Korean War

Main article: Korean War

The consolidation of Syngman Rhee's government in the South with American military support and the suppression of the October 1948 insurrection ended hopes that the country could be reunified by way of Stalinist revolution in the South, and from early 1949 Kim sought Soviet and Chinese support for a military campaign to reunify the country by force. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman ( March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The withdrawal of most U. S. forces from South Korea in June 1949 left the southern government defended only by a weak and inexperienced South Korean army. The southern regime also had to deal with a citizenry of uncertain loyalty. The North Korean army, by contrast, had been the beneficiary of the Soviet Union's, outdated Soviet WWII-era equipment, and had a core of hardened veterans who had fought as anti-Japanese guerrillas or with the Chinese Communists. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 ^[1]

Initially Stalin rejected Kim's requests, but in late 1949 the victory of the Communists in China and development of the Soviet nuclear weapons made him re-consider Kim's proposal. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party In January 1950, the permission to stage an invasion was finally approved by Stalin. The Soviet provided limited support in the form of advisors who helped the North Koreans as they planned the operation, and Soviet instructors trained some of the Korean units. However, from the very beginning Stalin made it clear that the Soviet Union would avoid a direct confrontation with the U. S. over Korea and would not commit ground forces even in case of some major military crisis. The stage was set for a civil war between two rival regimes on the Korean peninsula. ^[1]

For over a year before North Korean forces attacked the southern government on June 25, 1950, the two sides had been engaged in a series of bloody clashes along the 38th parallel, especially in the Ongjin area on the west coast. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On June 25, 1950 the northern forces escalated the battles into a full-fledged offensive and crossed the parallel in large numbers. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Due to a combination of surprise, superior military forces, and a poorly armed South Korean army, the Northern forces quickly captured Seoul and Syngman Rhee and his government was forced to flee further south. Seoul ( soʊl is the Capital and largest City of South Korea. However, the North Koreans failed to unify the peninsula when foreign powers entered the civil war. North Korean forces were soon defeated and driven northwards by United Nations forces led by the U. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security S. By October, the U. N. forces had retaken Seoul and captured Pyongyang, and it became Kim's turn to flee. Pyongyang (pʰjʌŋjaŋ is the Capital and largest City of North Korea, located on the Taedong River, at. But in November, Chinese forces entered the war and pushed the U. N. forces back, retaking Pyongyang in December and Seoul in January 1951. Pyongyang (pʰjʌŋjaŋ is the Capital and largest City of North Korea, located on the Taedong River, at. In March U. N. forces retook Seoul, and the war essentially became a bloody stalemate for the next two years. The front was stabilized in 1953 along what eventually became the current Armistice Line. After long negotiations, the two sides agreed on a border formed by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and a ceasefire was declared. The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: 한반도의 군사 분계선 is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a Buffer Note that an official peace treaty was never signed, and so the two Koreas have technically been at war since 1950.

After the war, Kim took control of North Korean politics, with the support of the armed forces, who respected his wartime record and long resistance to the Japanese. Pak Hon-yong, party vice chairman and Foreign Minister of DPRK, was blamed for the failure of the southern population to support North Korea during the war and was executed after a show-trial in 1955. Most of the South Korean leftists who defected to the North in 1945–1953 were also accused of espionage and other crimes and killed, imprisoned or exiled to remote agricultural and mining villages. Potential rivals from other groups such as Kim Tu-bong were also purged.

Postwar consolidation

The 1954–56 three-year plan repaired the massive damage caused by the war and brought industrial production back to pre-war levels. This was followed by the five-year plan of 1957–61 and the seven-year plan of 1961–67. These plans brought about further growth in industrial production and substantial development of state infrastructure. By the 1960s North Korea was the second most industrialized nation in East Asia, trailing only Japan. While a number of internal limitations appeared, such as in the production of consumer goods, the national standard of living was considered by many third-world nations as an alternative to the capitalist model of development sponsored by the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Building upon the ruins left by the Korean War, the North Korean economy by the late 1960s provided its people with medical care, universal education, adequate caloric intake, and livable housing. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the ^[2]

Kim Il-sung promoted Juche ("self-reliance"), a slogan he began to develop in the late 1950s and which he ultimately made North Korea's official ideology, displacing Marxism-Leninism. The Juche Idea (주체사상 Juche Sasang) is the official state Ideology of North Korea and the Political system based on it Marxism-Leninism is a Communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency amongst the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted The goal of Juche is to make North Korea strong enough to resist foreign invasion and capitalist intervention. Juche did not aim to make North Korea self-sufficient. The North Korean people were making use of domestic materials, technology, and innovations instead of becoming dependent upon those from outside the nation. Juche urged the North Korean people to resist foreign invasion by launching a series of mass-campaigns designed to strengthen the country economically, militarily, and culturally. ^[2]

North Korea's position was complicated by the Sino-Soviet split, which began in 1960. The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR Relations between North Korea and the Soviet Union worsened when the Soviets concluded that Kim Il-sung was supporting the Chinese side, although in fact Kim hoped to use the split to play China and the Soviets off against each other while pursuing a more independent policy. The result was a sharp decline in Soviet aid and credit, which could not be replaced by the less advanced Chinese. In fact, Kim's enthusiasm for Mao Zedong's policies was limited, despite his rhetorical denunciations of "revisionism. Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led For the critical reexamination of historical facts see Historical revisionism. " While he supported Chinese campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward, he saw Maoist initiatives such as the Hundred Flowers Campaign and the Cultural Revolution as destabilising and dangerous. The Great Leap Forward ( of the People's Republic of China (PRC was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1960 which aimed to use China 's vast population Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement, ( is the period referring to a brief interlude in the People's Republic of China from The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China was a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China that manifested into In this way, Kim Il-sung showed his determination to mark an independent path for North Korea when possible.

Economic decline

Due to internal limitations in the idea of Juche, a series of ill fortuned policy decisions concerning military expenditures and mining industries, and radical changes in international oil prices by the late 1970s the North Korean economy began to slow down. These decisions eventually affected the whole economy and led having to acquire external debts. At the same time North Korea's policy of self-reliance and the antagonism of America and its allies made it difficult for them to expand foreign trade or secure credit.

In the 1970s the expansion of North Korea's economy, with the accompanying rise in living standards, came to an end and a few decades later went into reverse. A huge increase in the price of oil following the oil shock of 1974 hurt the economies of countries throughout the world, North Korea among them. North Korea has no oil of its own, and it had few export commodities of interest to the west. Compounding this was a decision to borrow foreign capital and invest simultaneously in the military and mining industries. North Korea's desire to gain as much independence as it could from China and Russia prompted the expansion of its military power. They believed such expenditures could be covered by foreign borrowing and increased sales of its minerals in the international market. North Korea invested heavily in its mining industries and purchased a large quantity of extractive machinery and tools from abroad. However, soon after making these investments, the international prices for many of these minerals fell, leaving North Korea with large debts and an inability to both pay off the debts and provide a high level of social welfare to its people. ^[3]

Adding to the above, the centrally planned economy, which emphasized heavy industry, had reached the limits of its productive potential in North Korea. A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. Juche repeated demands that North Koreans learn to build and innovate domestically had run its course as had the ability of North Koreans to keep technological pace with other industrialized nations. By the mid to late-1970s some parts of the capitalist world, including South Korea, were advancing into new phases of technology and economic development and phasing out the coal-and-steel-based economies of the earlier period. ^[2]

Kim Il-sung, continued his ideology that had once been highly successful, was unable to respond effectively to the challenge of an increasingly prosperous and well-armed South Korea, which undermined the legitimacy of his own regime. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Having failed at their earlier attempt to turn to the market and conduct market-economy reforms such as those carried out in China by Deng Xiaoping, Kim opted for continued ideological purity. Deng Xiaoping ( 22 August 1904 19 February 1997) was a prominent Chinese Revolutionary, Politician, Pragmatist and Reformer The DPRK by 1980 was faced with the choice of either repaying its international loans, or continuing its support of social welfare for its people. Given the ideals of Juche, North Korea chose to default on its loans and by the late 1980s its industrial output was declining. The Juche Idea (주체사상 Juche Sasang) is the official state Ideology of North Korea and the Political system based on it ^[2]

Succession by Kim Jong-il

Kim Il-sung died in 1994. Kim Jong-il, who already had key positions in the government, succeeded him as General-Secretary of the Korean Workers Party. Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born 16 February 1941 Vyatskoye, Soviet Union; official biographies state 16 February 1942 Baekdu At that period North Korea had neither a secretary-general in the party nor a president. No functions of the government or party were normal. Minimal legal procedure was ignored. Although the new constitution appears to end the abnormal political system, it does not appear to completely terminate the transitional military rule. Rather it seems to legitimize and institutionalize military rule by making the NDC the most important state organ and its chairman the highest authority. Kim Jong-il became Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position described as the nation's "highest administrative authority," and thus North Korea's de facto head of state. His succession had been decided as early as 1980, with the support of the military and party apparatus.

During the decade of Kim Jong-il's rule, North Korea's economy has continued to deteriorate and the standard of living of its 23 million people has continued to fall. From 1996 to 1999 the country experienced a large-scale famine which left some 600–900,000 people dead. The fundamental cause of this decline is that the state, which runs the entire economy, is bankrupt, and cannot pay for the necessary imports of capital goods to undertake the desperately needed modernization of its industrial plants. The inefficiency of North Korea's Stalinist-style collective agricultural system also contributed to the disaster. North Korea spends about a quarter of its GDP on armaments, including the development of nuclear weapons, and keeps nearly all able-bodied males aged 18–30 in uniform, while the basic infrastructure of the state is allowed to crumble.

As a result, North Korea is now dependent on international food aid to feed its population. According to Amnesty International, more than 13 million people suffered from malnutrition in the DPRK in 2003. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to In 2001 the DPRK received nearly $US300 million in food aid from the U. S. , South Korea, Japan, and the European Union, plus much additional aid from the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Unspecified (but apparently large) amounts of aid in the form of food, oil and coal are also provided by China every year. Despite this North Korea maintained its violent rhetoric against the U. S. , South Korea and Japan. The supply of heating and electricity outside the capital is practically non-existent, and food and medical supplies are scarce. When there is a bad harvest, as has been persistently the case over recent years, the population faces actual famine: a situation never before seen in a peacetime industrial economy. Since 1997 there has been a steady stream of illegal emigration to China, despite the efforts of both countries to prevent it.

Kim Jong-il has said that the solution to this crisis is earning hard currency, developing information technology, and attracting foreign aid, but despite some movement towards reform it has not substantially reduced the state's control over the economy or introducing the market-oriented reforms which have produced spectacular economic growth in China since 1979. So far the DPRK, not surprisingly given Juche and UN attempts to isolate them, has made little progress in attracting private capital. The Juche Idea (주체사상 Juche Sasang) is the official state Ideology of North Korea and the Political system based on it

In July 2002 some limited reforms were announced. The currency was devalued and food prices were allowed to rise in the hope of stimulating agricultural production. It was announced that food rationing systems as well as subsidized housing would be phased out. A "family-unit farming system" was introduced on a trial basis for the first time since collectivization in 1954. The government also set up a "special administrative zone" in Sinuiju, a town near the border with China. The local authority was given near-autonomy, especially in its economic affairs. This was an attempt to emulate the success of such free-trade zones in China, but it attracted little outside interest. Despite some optimistic talk in the foreign press the impetus of these reforms has not been followed with, for example, a large-scale decollectivization such as occurred in China under Deng.

Current situation

President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea actively attempted to reduce tensions between the two Koreas under the Sunshine Policy, but this produced few immediate results. Kim Dae-jung (Born December 3, 1925, kim tɛdʑuŋ is a former South Korean president and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient The Sunshine Policy was the South Korean doctrine towards North Korea until Lee Myung-bak 's election to presidency in 2008 Since the election of George W. Bush as President of the United States, North Korea has faced renewed external pressure over its nuclear program, reducing the prospect of international economic assistance. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States.

North Korea remains a Stalinist state. The lack of access to the foreign media and the tradition of secrecy in North Korea means that there is little news about political conditions, but Amnesty International's 2003 report on North Korea says that "there were reports of severe repression of people involved in public and private religious activities, including imprisonment, torture and executions. Unconfirmed reports suggested that torture and ill-treatment were widespread in prisons and labour camps. Conditions were reportedly extremely harsh. "^[4]

There seems little immediate likelihood that North Korea will undergo an East German-style collapse: a prospect that South Korea and China view with great trepidation because of the fear of a sudden and large exodus of North Korean refugees into their countries. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state A number of individuals have defected from North Korea. Different terms are in official and unofficial use in East Asian languages to refer to this group of refugees There appears to be little internal opposition to the regime. Indeed, a great many of the food refugees who have fled to China still showed significant support for the current government as well as pride in their homeland. Many of these food refugees reportedly return to North Korea after earning sufficient money. ^[5]

In 2002 Kim Jong Il declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities", followed by some small market economy relaxations, and the creation of the Kaesong Industrial Region with transport links to South Korea was announced. Kaesŏng Industrial Region is a special administrative Industrial region of North Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Experiments are under way to allow factory managers to fire underperforming workers and give bonuses. China’s investments increased to $200 million in 2004. China has counseled North Korea’s leaders to gradually open the economy to market forces, and it is possible this path will be successfully followed as well as China's policy of keeping political control firmly in the hands of the communist party.

North Korea declared on Feb. 10, 2005 that it has nuclear weapons [1] bringing widespread calls for the North to return to the six-party talks aimed at curbing its nuclear program. The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. It was initially disputed by outside sources whether or not North Korea has nuclear weapons, and many Russian sources denied that North Korea has the technology necessary to build a nuclear weapon. On Monday, 9th October 2006, North Korea has announced that it had successfully detonated a nuclear device underground at 10:36 am local time without any radiation leak. An official at South Korea's seismic monitoring center confirmed a magnitude-3. 6 tremor felt at the time North Korea said it conducted the test was not a natural occurrence. Associated Press

Additionally, North Korea has a very active missile development program, although they have not successfully tested their longer-ranged missiles. In 1998, North Korea tested a Taepondong-1 Space Launch Vehicle, which successfully launched but failed to reach orbit. On July 5th, 2006, they tested a Taepodong-2 ICBM that reportedly could reach the west coast of the U. S. in the 2-stage version, or the entire U. S. with a third stage. However, the missile failed shortly after launch, so it is unknown what its exact capabilities are or how close North Korea is to perfecting the technology.

North Korea's advancements in weapons technology appear to give them leverage in ongoing negotiations with the United Nations and other countries. On Feb 13, 2007, North Korea signed an agreement with South Korea, the United States, Russia, China, and Japan, in which North Korea will shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for economic and energy assistance. The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea 's major nuclear facility operating its first Nuclear reactors It is located in the county of

See also

• History of Korea
• Prehistory of Korea
• 2006 North Korea flooding
• 2007 North Korea flooding
• List of Korea-related topics

References

External links

• Speak Out About Human Rights In North Korea (a commentary from Human Rights Watch, published in The Asian Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2004)
• On North Korea's streets, pink and tangerine buses, Christian Science Monitor, June 2 2005
• North Korea on the rebound, Global Beat Syndicate, June 27 2005
• The North Korea International Documentation Project (Primary source documents concerning DPRK history)

Further reading

• O'Hanlon, Michael; Mochizuki, Mike. Human Rights Watch is a United States -based international Non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on Human rights. The Wall Street Journal Asia provides news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Christian Science Monitor (CSM is an international Newspaper published daily Monday through Friday Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden "Crisis on the Korean Peninsula. " McGraw-Hill. 2003. ISBN 0-07-143155-1
• Cumings, Bruce, et al. . "Inventing the Axis of Evil. " The New Press. 2004. ISBN 1-56584-904-3