Today in Korean history

July 4

1950 -- U.S. troops engage North Korean forces in Osan. The encounter marks the first clash between U.S. and North Korean soldiers in the Korean War.

1972 -- South and North Korea announce the July 4 joint communique outlining the future direction of cooperation between the two sides.

1981 -- South Korea proposes direct trade links with the Soviet Union.

1998 -- Tensions rise between South Korea and Russia as Moscow expels a South Korean diplomat on suspicion of espionage. Seoul responds by expelling a Russian diplomat.

2000 -- The Cabinet approves a special law to recognize and compensate those who have contributed to South Korea's democratization process.

2005 -- South Korea's finance ministry announces a plan to spend an additional 3.1 trillion won in the second half of the year to stimulate economic growth.

2009 -- North Korea test-launches seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast in a stand-off with the U.S. over its nuclear and missile programs. It fires the first two missiles from its East Sea base around 8:30 a.m. and the seventh missile, which appears to be a Scud-type one, at around 5:40 p.m. from the east coast.

2017 -- North Korea launches a ballistic missile from a northwestern province into waters off its east coast. Pyongyang claims that it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile and that it reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers and flew 933 km.
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