Korean War Events

1950 Jun 25 North Korean army invades South Korea
June 25, 1950 At approximately 4 a.m. (Korean Standard Time) on a rainy Sunday morning Democratic People's Republic of Korea Army (DPRK - North Korea) artillery and mortars open fire o...
1950 Jul 5 Battle of Osan
The Battle of Osan was the first engagement between United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War. U.S. Task Force Smith of 540 men suffered 180 casualties while inflicting ...
1950 Aug
to 1950 Dec
Battle of Pusan Perimeter
The Battle of Pusan Perimeter was fought in August and September 1950 between United Nations Command forces combined with South Korean forces and the forces of North Korea. The Pusan Peri...
1950 Sep 15
to 1950 Sep 19
 Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon (Korean: 인천 상륙 작전, Hanja: 仁川上陸作戰, Incheon Sangnyuk Jakjeon; code name: Operation Arthur) was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a de...
1950 Oct
to 1950 Dec
Chinese forces intervene in Korean War
The United Nations troops drove the North Koreans back past the 38th parallel. Urban combat in Seoul, 1950, as U.S. Marines fight North Koreans holding the city The UN forces cros...
1950 Nov 26
to 1950 Dec 13
 Battle of the Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as Battle of Changjin Lake (simplified Chinese: 长津湖之战; pinyin: Cháng Jīn Hū Zhī Zhàn), was a battle in the Korean War in which 30,000 United Nat...
1951 Mar 23
to 1951 Mar 28
 Operation Courageous
Operation Courageous was a military operation performed by the United States Army during the Korean War designed to trap large numbers of Chinese and North Korean troops between the Han a...
1952 Oct 14
to 1952 Nov 25
 Battle of Triangle Hill
The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign (simplified Chinese: 上甘岭战役; pinyin: Shànggānlǐng Zhànyì),[nb 2] was a protracted military engage...
1953 Mar
to 1953 Jul
Battle of Pork Chop Hill
The Battle of Pork Chop Hill comprises a pair of related Korean War infantry battles during the spring and summer of 1953. These were fought while the U.S. and the Communist Chinese and K...
1953 May 28
to 1953 May 29
 Battle of the Hook
The third Battle of the Hook was a battle of the Korean War that took place between a United Nations force, consisting mostly of British troops, supported on their flanks by American and ...
1953 Jul 27 Korean Armistice Agreement
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, with neither side able to claim outright victory. Fifty years on, the truce is still all that technically prevents North Korea and the US ...
1968 Jan 21 North Korean Commandos Cross DMZ in an Attempt to Assassinate South Korean President Park Chung Hee
On January 21, 1968, 31 North Korean commandos snuck into South Korea in an attempt to assassinate President Park Chung Hee. The teams, organized into groups of six, made their way throug...
1976 Aug 18 Axe Murder Incident at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Axe Murder Incident (Korean: 판문점 도끼 살인 사건) was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976 in the Joint Security Area (JSA) located in t...
1983 Oct 9 North Korean Operatives Detonate Bomb in Rangoon in Unsuccessful Attempt on Life of South Korean President, Chun Doo Hwan
Under Chun's leadership, Seoul cautiously promoted a peaceful dialogue with North Korea and encouraged the expansion of northsouth contacts in the early 1980s; P'yongyang remained uninter...
1996 Sep 18 North Korean Submarine Lands Near Gangneung Sparking Deadly 49-Day Manhunt
The 1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident occurred on September 18, 1996, near the South Korean town of Gangneung. On September 15, a North Korean Sang-O class submarine subma...
1999 Jun 15 First Battle of Yeonpyeong
The First Battle of Yeonpyeong was a skirmish between naval units of North and South Korea. It did little to settle the dispute about control of the area and was an embarrassment to the N...
2002 Jun 29 Second Battle of Yeonpyeong
On June 29, 2002 a North Korean patrol boat crossed the northern limit line and was warned to turn back. Shortly afterward a second patrol craft crossed the line and it too was warned to ...
2009 May 27 North Korea Withdraws from 1953 Armistice
SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea said Wednesday it was abandoning the truce that ended the Korean war and warned it could launch a military attack on the South, two days after testing an atomic ...
2009 Jun 9 North Korea Threatens a "Merciless Offensive" Involving Nuclear Weapons
Consistent with the highly belligerent posture North Korea has taken in the past three weeks, and the “rapid-fire series of provocations“ it has initiated since the beginning of 2009, Pyo...
2009 Jun 15 President Obama Welcomes President Lee Myung-Bak in Washington
As North Korea threatens nuclear war, President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will be eager to show the North the unity of their alliance and a determination not t...
2009 Jun 17 US Begins Tracking North Korean Freighter Suspected of Carrying Prohibited Materials
A North Korean ship shadowed by an American Navy destroyer and possibly heading toward Myanmar on Sunday could pose the first test of how far the United States and its allies will go unde...
2009 Jun 23 South Korea Unveils 'Red Shark' Vertical-Launch Anti-Sub Missile
And as tension continues to escalate on the Korean peninsula, South Korea has unveiled its new guided missile system to beef up its naval defense. South Korea is the second country in ...
2009 Jul 1 Suspect North Korean Ship Trailed by US Navy Reverses Course
A North Korean cargo ship being closely tailed by the United States Navy appears to be changing course, and may be returning to North Korea. The ship has come to be seen as an initial tes...
2009 Jul 4 North Korea Fires Seven More Ballistic Missiles
US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday dismissed North Korea's latest series of missile launches, saying the communist regime was engaged in "attention seeking" as it faced increasing i...
2009 Jul 8 North Korea Launches First Ever Cyber Attack Against US and South Korean Websites
North Korea is suspected of launching a cyber attack that paralysed the websites of South Korean and United States government agencies, banks and businesses, the first such large-scale at...
2009 Aug 25 South Korea Launches First Rocket Into Space
South Korea's space program suffered a blow Tuesday after a satellite launched from its first space rocket failed to reach proper orbit, a science official said. South Koreans at a railw...
2009 Oct 5 North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il Tells Chinese Premier He is Willing to Return to Nuclear Disarmament Talks
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told the visiting Chinese premier Monday that his country was willing to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations provided progress is made in...
2009 Oct 12 North Korea Test-Fires Five Short-Range Missiles.
North Korea has test-fired five short-range missiles off the east coast of the peninsula, South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported. The North had declared a "no-sail zone" off its...
2010 Jan 11 North Korea Proposes Official End to Korean War
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s latest proposal on discussing a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula in the framework of the six-party talks is not welcome, a South Kor...
2010 Jan 20 South Korea's Foreign Minister Calls for Pre-emptive Strike Against North if Threatened
South Korea's defense chief called Wednesday for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea if there is a clear indication the country is preparing a nuclear attack. Meanwhile, a state-run th...
2010 Jan 27 North Korea Fires on South Korean Waters
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired artillery Wednesday again toward waters north of the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea, only hours after the first firing, ...
2010 Jan 28 North Korea Claims to have Detained American at Chinese Border
North Korea said Thursday it detained an American man who it said crossed its border with China earlier this week, becoming the second American in a month to allegedly enter the country i...
2010 Jan 29 North Korea Claims to Hold Second American Citizen
North Korea has detained a U.S. citizen this week, the second American known to be held by the isolated Communist country, the U.S. State Department confirmed today. The identity of th...
2010 Mar 18 South Korean Defense Minster States that North Korea is Believed to be Continuing Uranium Enrichment and has Over 1,000 Missiles Stockpiled
In a sign that it will not give up its atomic ambitions, North Korea is believed to have some 1,000 missiles, including intermediate-range and Scud missiles, and is continuing to produce ...
2010 Mar 26 South Korean Warship Sinks Near Border with North
About 40 sailors are believed missing after a South Korean warship sank near the border with North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said early Saturday local time, quoting unidenti...
2010 Apr 15 North Denies Involvement in Sinking as South Korean Warship Excavated from Seabed Near Disputed Yellow Sea Border
As tearful families looked on, the South Korean military recovered the bodies of 32 crewmen from the stern of a sunken warship that salvagers raised Thursday from the floor of the Yellow ...
2010 Apr 19 South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Vows Investigation into Sinking of Warship
An emotional President Lee Myung-bak vowed Monday to find out why a South Korean naval ship sank and to "deal resolutely" with whatever or whomever caused the sinking, the country's Yonha...
2010 Apr 22 Korean Newspaper Chosun Ilbo Reports Korean Navy Alerted of Possible North Korean Attack Weeks Before Mysterious Sinking of Warship
Military intelligence officers warned earlier this year that North Korea was preparing a suicide submarine attack on a South Korean vessel in retaliation for an earlier defeat in a sea ba...
2010 Apr 26 South Korean President Honors Victims of Sunken Warship
As the wreck of the Cheonan continues to be examined, and as forensic evidence continues to point to a North Korean torpedo as the cause of the sinking, one analyst says a military repris...
2010 Apr 27 North Korea's DailyNK Newspaper Reports that Party Official Bragging about North's Responsibility for Sinking South Korean Warship
Changchun, China -- A North Korean Party cadre has announced that his country was responsible for the sinking of an unnamed South Korean vessel presumed to be the Cheonan, a source from O...
2010 May 3 Kim Jong-il Makes Rare Visit Abroad in Appeal to China Amidst Rising Tensions At Home and Abroad
Kim Jong-il, North Korea's leader, has arrived in China on a rare foreign trip that is being seen as an attempt to win financial and political support from his impoverished nation's only ...
2010 May 5 Kim Jong-il Arrives in Beijing During Clandestine Visit to China
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, on his China trip that wrapped up Thursday, placed emphasis on economic cooperation, in addition to efforts to resume the six-party denuclearization talks...
2010 May 9 South Korean Defense Minister Gives Torpedo as Likeliest Cause of Ship Sinking
The Cheonan sinking's lead investigator said his team had concluded that ship was torn apart by a "non-contact" explosion from a device that didn't touch the vessel itself. A salvage crew...
2010 May 12 North Korea Claims Creation of Energy through Nuclear Fusion Prompting Widespread Skepticism
We don't mean to be xenophobic here, nor do we wish to diminish the work of North Korea's nuclear scientists, who have no doubt been hard at work. But a means of controlling a sustained n...
2010 May 17 South Korea Freezes Funding to North Following Warship Explosion
South Korea said Monday it had suspended funding for government-level exchanges with communist North Korea amid rising tensions over the sinking of a Seoul warship and other issues. Th...
2010 May 19 Laura Ling Discusses Capture by North Korea on "Larry King Live"
One of two American journalists freed last year from a North Korean prison said Wednesday that their release was thanks to an expression of condolences made by former President Bill Clint...
2010 May 20 International Investigation Concludes North Korean Responsibility for Warship Sinking
South Korea announced Thursday it found North Korea responsible for the sinking of its warship on March 26 and vowed punishment. Pyongyang responded by threatening war for any military re...
2010 May 21 Secretary of State Clinton Warns of Consequences for North Korea Following Sinking of South Korean Warship
"We cannot allow this attack on South Korea to go unanswered by the international community" —US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
2010 May 27 South Korean Navy Stages Anti-Submarine Exercise in Response to Sinking of Warship
The South Korean Navy on Thursday held a large-scale anti-submarine drill in the Yellow Sea amid rising tensions between South Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). A...
2010 Jun 4 Korean Conservative Ruling Party Suffers Election Defeat in Referendum on Response to Warship Sinking
Opposition candidates trounced the conservative ruling Grand National Party in local elections, throwing a spanner into the Lee Myung-bak administration’s flagship development projects an...