Today in Korean history

Jan. 12

1988 -- North Korea's Olympic Committee declares its decision to boycott the Seoul Olympics.

2001 -- Then U.S. President Bill Clinton expresses "regret" over the killing of South Korean citizens by U.S. soldiers during the 1950-1953 Korean War. He acknowledged that U.S. soldiers "killed or injured an unconfirmed number of Korean refugees" in Nogeun-ri, a hamlet in southeastern South Korea, in July 1950, barely a month after the war broke out. Bereaved families claim at least 248 people were killed.

2006 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Kim's visit to the high-tech city near Hong Kong is seen as an indication of North Korea's willingness to reform its economy.

2007 -- North Korea hands over a South Korean fishing boat, with its engineer aboard, that crossed into North Korean waters in December 2006 in the East Sea.
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