Today in Korean history

Oct. 6

1956 -- South Korea and the United States sign a treaty for amicable trade.

1972 -- Seoul's population hits 6 million as a rural exodus accelerates and the country's industrialization picks up steam.

1986 -- Samsung Electronics succeeds in developing the world's first miniature 4-millimeter videotape recorder.

2003 -- A gymnasium named after the late South Korean business tycoon Chung Ju-yung opens in Pyongyang. Senior figures with the Hyundai business group, the leading South Korean investor in North Korea, and government officials participate in the opening ceremony, held after three years of construction.

2004 -- The United States announces it will significantly delay a plan to reduce the number of its troops stationed in South Korea.

2008 -- President Lee Myung-bak proposes a tripartite summit with Japan and China on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Summit.

2010 -- South Korea and the European Union seal a bilateral free trade agreement.

2012 -- A North Korean soldier defects to South Korea after shooting two superiors to death.

2014 -- After its five-month probe, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office blames the deadly sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol on cargo overloading, an illegal redesigning of the ship to increase its cargo load and the steersman's poor helmsmanship.

2016 -- Typhoon Chaba kills seven in the southern part of South Korea, with three more people missing amid strong winds and heavy rains in the region.
(END)