Today in Korean history

Sept. 18

1894 -- The Joseon Dynasty opens its first modern primary school, Gyodong Elementary School, in Insadong, Jongno-gu, central Seoul.

1996 -- A North Korean submarine is found stranded on the seashore at Gangneung, a South Korean port city 240 kilometers east of Seoul. A massive manhunt followed for 25 North Korean sailors and agents who came ashore after abandoning their disabled submarine. Most were shot and killed though a few were believed to have made it back to the North.

2002 -- South Korea and North Korea simultaneously begin work to reconnect two sets of railways across their heavily fortified border. The cross-border railways were cut off just before the Korean War started in 1950.

2013 -- North Korea's chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan calls for the quick resumption of nuclear talks without preconditions.

2018 -- President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un kick off a three-day summit in Pyongyang, the third meeting between the two leaders. The summit leads to the two leaders' adoption, on the second day, of a joint declaration confirming efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean peace building.

2019 -- South Korea officially removes Japan from its list of trusted trade partners. Under the new classification scheme, Seoul's trade ministry regroups its trading partners into three groups from the previous two, placing Tokyo in the in-between group. The move came amid the two countries' high-profile trade row that largely stems from frictions over their shared history.
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