ISSUE AREAS:

US - North Korean Relations Timeline: 1853-2006

18 October 2006

The history of diplomatic and military tension in US-Korean relations began well before the outbreak of war between North Korean and UN forces in 1950. From the late 19th century, when US diplomacy forcibly opened Korean society to trade and social contact with the Western world, American relations with the Korean peninsula have been characterized by both expressions of mutual hostility and occasional attempts at cooperation. North Korean claims that the regime is simply engaging in tactics designed for self-preservation cannot be dismissed as mere rhetoric. The isolated state has had genuine cause to fear American actions and intentions throughout its history, and complex relations with the United States date back for nearly one hundred years prior to the division of Korea and the assumption of Cold War hostilities. Even the most cursory examination of this history, as presented in the following timeline of major events in US-Korean relations, can help understand and explain the reactions of fear and hostility from the Communist state.

19th Century

1853 - First official contact between the United States and Korea with a visit by the USS South America to Pusan harbor.

1866 - The USS General Sherman, seeking to open Korean ports to trade and end the persecution of Christians, is destroyed in Pyongyang. Reprisal from French warships follows.

1871 - A US mission to establish formal relations with the Korean authorities ends in conflict, as cultural misunderstanding prompts exchange of fire and incursions by US Marines.

1881 - Under pressure from China, Korean authorities conduct negotiations with US envoys and establish a formal treaty between the two countries, opening Korea to trade with the West and setting a precedent quickly followed by European nations.

20th Century

1904 - US President Theodore Roosevelt encourages Japan to assume control of Korean affairs in a manner similar to US control of Cuba, with authority over governance, diplomacy and economic activities. Korea is made a Japanese protectorate.

1905 - Korean appeals for assistance go unheeded by the United States as Secretary of State Elihu Root declines to recognize the Korean envoy. Korea is officially annexed by Japan in 1910.

1918 - Appeals by Korean envoys again fall on deaf ears at the Treaty of Versailles. Korea remains occupied and exploited as part of the Japanese empire.

1924 - Formation of the Korean Communist Party.

August 1945 - The USSR declares war on Japan and Soviet troops cross into Korea.

September 1945 - US troops arrive in southern Korea. The 38th parallel is chosen as a dividing point, with the North to be occupied by Soviet forces and the South by American forces.

1948 - Anti-Communist Syngman Rhee elected President of the Republic of Korea in UN sanctioned elections and assumes control of the South; in the North Kim Il-Sung is installed as President of the Democratic Republic of Korea. The United Nations recognizes the government of Syngman Rhee as the official and legitimate head of the Korean state.

March 1949 - Douglas MacArthur omits Korea when describing the US Pacific defense perimeter in an interview with a British journalist on 1 March.

June 1949 - US troops depart from South Korea, leaving only a small military advisory force.

September - December 1949 - US intelligence gathers evidence regarding a planned invasion of the South by North Korean troops, but its accuracy is considered questionable. Testimony by Senator H. Alexander Smith (R-New Jersey) to the Foreign Relations Committee in November provides reassurance that the Army of the Republic of Korea can withstand confrontation with its northern neighbor.

1950 - Dean Acheson echoes the comments made by MacArthur in a speech made at the National Press Club. Intelligence and rumors suggesting an imminent invasion are proven true when North Korean troops cross the border on 25 June, initiating the Korean War. The United Nations provides the United States with a mandate to assist in the defense of the Republic of Korea.

1953 - A 27 July armistice brings fighting to a halt and restores the previous border along the 38th parallel. US troops remain stationed in Korea and will contribute to significant military build-up along the de-militarized zone at the border.

1957 - The United States begins deployment of nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula. During the next three decades thousands of nuclear warheads will be placed within striking distance of North Korea.

1968 - North Korean vessels capture the surveillance ship the USS Pueblo. The ship remains on display in North Korea as a testament to "imperial aggression."

1969 - US EC-121 surveillance aircraft shot down over the Sea of Japan. Thirty-one crew members are killed.

1972 - North and South Korea announce an agreement to seek cooperation and eventual unification. This agreement breaks down in the following year and initiates a decade-long suspension of relations between the two countries.

1976 - Two US officers serving with the United Nations Command mission in Korea are killed by North Korean soldiers following an altercation at the DMZ.

1985 - North Korea joins the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) following an agreement with the Soviet Union, which assisted in the creation of a nuclear power plant at Yongbyon. The North Koreans fail, however, to arrange a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), based on their opposition to the deployment of US nuclear weapons in South Korea.

1988 - The United States places North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism on 20 January following the involvement of North Korean agents in the in-flight destruction of Korean Airlines Flight 858 in November 1987.

1991 - The United States withdraws the last of its nuclear weapons from South Korea, prompting an agreement between North and South Korea to denuclearize the peninsula and enact safeguards and inspections in order to prevent the manufacture of nuclear weapons by either.

1992 - North Korea ratifies the IAEA safeguards and makes a declaration that it has 90 grams of plutonium and seven nuclear sites. The IAEA begins inspections to verify these statements.

February - March 1993 - Concern over inaccuracy in the North Korean reporting prompts the IAEA to demand inspection of two sites. Access is refused and North Korea threatens to withdraw from the NPT.

June - December 1993 - Following further negotiation the proposed withdrawal is abandoned and the United States provides assurances to North Korea that it will not take military action against it or interfere with its internal affairs. US intelligence sources indicate, however, that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for two nuclear weapons.

March - June 1994 - After denying IAEA inspectors access to the Yongbyon site, North Korea announces its withdrawal from the IAEA. Former US president Jimmy Carter helps establish dialogue between the United States and North Korea aimed at freezing development of nuclear weapons.

July 1994 - Kim Il-Sung dies and is succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il.

August - November 1994 - An agreement between North Korea and the United States is reached and establishes an "Agreed Framework," whereby North Korea will receive two proliferation-resistant light-water reactors and yearly shipments of fuel oil in return for cessation of activity and eventual dismantling of its other three nuclear reactor sites.

1995 - The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) is formed, with North and South Korea, the United States and Japan as its founding members.

1996 - Talks between North Korea and the United States regarding missile proliferation begin with initial promise but end with US sanctions against North Korea and the deployment of US warships to Japan following North Korean declaration to conduct missile tests. North Korea announces its abandonment of the 1953 armistice and sends troops into the DMZ. Severe flooding in North Korea leads to famine; the international community, including the United States, respond with pledges of aid totaling over $15 million.

1997 - A second round of talks again fails to produce progress, and further sanctions are imposed.

1998 - South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung reveals his "Sunshine Policy" to seek improved relations and reconciliation with Pyongyang. North Korea continues its missile development program despite the imposition of further sanctions. No progress is derived from a third round of talks on North Korea's missile program, and negotiations designed to allow US inspection of a suspected underground nuclear site at Kumchang-ni end in an impasse over compensation.

February - May 1999 - Following a CIA briefing regarding the capability of the existing North Korean missile program, a fourth round of talks commences in March but leads only to an agreement for further negotiations. An inspection of the Kumchang-ni site finds no evidence of nuclear activity. In late May William Perry, appointed by President Clinton as North Korean policy coordinator, travels to Pyongyang to meet with officials regarding potential bilateral talks. The United States seeks confirmation that North Korea is not pursuing nuclear activities beyond those permitted under the Agreed Framework.

September - December 1999 - Further talks produce a suspension of missile testing by North Korea, and Perry recommends that the United States pursue a policy of coordination with regional allies to reduce North Korean isolation and normalize diplomatic relations. KEDO signs a contract to begin work on the two light-water reactors as agreed in the 1994 Agreement.

2000 - Progress towards a normalization of relations continues as sanctions are reduced, North and South Korea agree to "resolve" the issue of reunification, and further talks on the North Korean missile program are held in Kuala Lumpur and New York. Although these talks again fail to produce an agreement, senior officials conduct reciprocal visits between Washington and Pyongyang.

21st Century

2001 - President Bush makes statements implying a new, tougher policy towards North Korea, and a repudiation of the Kim Dae-Jung's Sunshine Policy. This provokes an angry reaction from Pyongyang and cancellation of reconciliation talks in South Korea. Despite this, Kim Jong-Il reiterates his desire for dialogue with South Korea and a willingness to suspend missile testing, whilst the Bush administration announces its own wishes to continue "serious discussions" with Pyongyang.

January - June 2002 - President Bush labels North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" and implies the regime has the desire and intention to support terrorism. Pyongyang counters with statements that any US attack will be met with a retributive strike on US soil. Despite these exchanges, the United States holds open the possibility of further talks and continues to allow funding for KEDO.

October 2002 - Relations between the United States and North Korea sour as James Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, presses North Korean officials on its missile program and suspicions over its nuclear ambitions. The United States announces that North Korea admitted to having a nuclear weapons program, in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework. Pyongyang denies having made such an admission but admits to possession of a uranium enrichment program.

November 2002 - KEDO suspends fuel shipments to North Korea following threats from Pyongyang to resume its missile testing. Further statements are issued that are interpreted by some as indicating North Korean possession of nuclear weapons. The IAEA requests clarification regarding the enrichment program, but Pyongyang refuses to comply, claiming a pro-US bias in the association.

December 2002 - A ship carrying North Korean made Scud missiles bound for Yemen is intercepted by US and Spanish forces but released due to lack of legal authority to seize its cargo. North Korea announces it will resume work on its nuclear reactor frozen under the 1994 Agreement, and rebukes the United States for delays in the construction of the light water reactors. IAEA seals and monitoring equipment are removed from nuclear sites, and all inspectors are ordered out of the country.

January - March 2003 - Despite IAEA protest, North Korea announces its intention to withdraw from the NPT on 11 January, and hints at a resumption of long-range missile testing. Verbal barbs are exchanged as President Bush labels the Pyongyang government "an oppressive regime" and is in turn called a "shameless charlatan." Work on the nuclear reactors resumes and tensions run high as North Korea fires short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan and a US surveillance aircraft is shadowed by North Korean interceptors in international airspace.

April - June 2003 - US fighter aircraft on exercise in South Korea are kept in place following the rise in hostilities. The United Nations Security Council expresses concern over North Korea's withdrawal from the NPT but does not condemn the move. Dialogue between the United States and North Korea commences following an April meeting in Beijing, and US officials claim further admission by the North Koreans that they have nuclear weapons. North Korea proceeds to withdraw from the 1992 agreement to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, and insists the country will pursue a weapons program in the face of hostile US policy.

July - December 2003 - Six-party talks begin in August but achieve little as North Korea presents a list of demands, including security guarantees, which must be met by the United States before it will consider suspension of weapons development. The United States refuses, stating North Korea must halt and dismantle its program. KEDO announces suspension of work on the light-water reactors.

2004 - An unofficial US delegation visiting North Korea announces that North Korea appears to have weapons grade plutonium, but see no evidence of a bomb. A further session of six-party talks sees the United States offer to resume fuel aid to North Korea but the offer is rejected. In September North Korean delegates to the United Nations announce the country has developed nuclear weapons for deterrence against a US attack.

January - June 2005 - North Korea is branded as an "outpost of tyranny" by the Bush administration, prompting its withdrawal from further negotiations. North Korea proceeds to conduct several short-range missile tests and extract fuel for building weapons.

July - December 2005 - Six-party talks resume in July and by September an agreement is reached for North Korea to rejoin the NPT and cease all nuclear activity, in return for guarantees that the United States will not attack. This is withdrawn the following day when North Korea demands a light-water reactor as part of the agreement, and in December announces plans to continue building reactors.

April - October 2006 - In the face of several missile tests, the United States dismisses the threat of a North Korean nuclear strike as "deeply hypothetical." The United Nations Security Council approves sanctions in July in response to the missile tests. Following a statement promising a nuclear test in the near future, North Korea detonates what it claims to be a nuclear weapon on 9 October. The Security Council immediately imposes further sanctions and demands North Korean nuclear and missile programs be eliminated. US intelligence officials confirm on 16 October that the test was in fact of a small nuclear device.

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For further reading see:

Arms Control Association. Chronology of US-North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy. Available online at: http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron.asp

BBC News. Timeline: North Korea. Available online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1132268.stm

BBC News. Timeline: North Korea Nuclear Standoff. Available online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2604437.stm

Hirsh, Michael, Melinda Liu and George Wehrfritz. "'We are a nuclear power:' The weird and scary saga of how an isolated, bankrupt nation went nuclear and how the United States failed to stop it." Newsweek. 23 October 2006.

Korean History Project. Timeline of Asian History. Available online at: http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Ket/TmLn/Chronology.htm