Today in Korean history

July 27

1953 -- Representatives of North Korea, China and the United States sign the Armistice Agreement to end the Korean War. The war broke out on June 25, 1950, when North Korea started bombarding northern South Korea early in the morning.

1961 -- South Korea and Niger in western Africa establish diplomatic relations.

1961 -- A funeral is held for Rhee Syng-man, the nation's first president, who died in Hawaii. The U.S.-educated leader had been forced to leave the country the previous year by student-led pro-democracy demonstrations against government corruption and the dictatorship. The protest was later named the 4.19 Revolution.

His body was flown to Seoul for burial at the National Cemetery.

1985 -- The 63 Building, the nation's highest skyscraper, opens in Seoul.

1989 -- A Korean Air passenger plane crashes at Libya's Tripoli International Airport, killing 80 people and injuring 119 others.

1995 -- President Kim Young-sam holds summit talks with his U.S. counterpart, Bill Clinton. They agreed to create a high-level consultative body to develop joint strategies with regard to North Korea and to seek ways to expedite the North's opening to the outside world.

2018 -- A U.S. Air Force transport aircraft arrives in South Korea from North Korea, carrying the remains of service members killed in the Korean War.

2021 -- South Korea and North Korea reopen direct cross-border communication lines, which Pyongyang severed in 2020 in protest of propaganda leaflets coming in from the South, under a surprise agreement between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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