Today in Korean history

Oct. 15

1949 -- South Korea and Japan sign a trade cooperation agreement, the first official document inked between the two neighbors since the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. The two nations normalize relations 16 years later in 1965.

1963 -- Retired Army Gen. Park Chung-hee is elected president in a close race with civilian leader Yoon Bo-sun. After seizing power in a 1961 coup, Park doffed his military uniform and ran for president two years later. His iron-fisted rule ended on Oct. 26, 1979, when he was assassinated by his intelligence chief, Kim Jae-kyu.

1988 -- The Seoul Paralympic Games opens with 4,361 participants from 65 countries.

2001 -- President Kim Dae-jung holds summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Seoul. They discuss a fishing dispute, anti-terrorism measures, inter-Korean relations and other issues.

2009 -- South Korea and the European Union (EU) initial their free trade deal in Brussels, three months after concluding their negotiations. The Seoul-Brussels free trade agreement (FTA) goes into effect on July 1, 2011.

2015 -- President Park Geun-hye visits the Pentagon for a meeting with Defense Secretary Ash Carter on North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs.

2018 -- In high-level talks held in the truce village of Panmunjom, South and North Korea agree to start a joint project to modernize and eventually connect their railways and roads across the border.

2019 -- South Korea's unification ministry says North Korea has sent invitations to South Korean athletes for the 2019 Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships to be held in Pyongyang from Oct. 20-27.
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