Today in Korean history

Sept. 16

1974 -- North Korea joins the International Atomic Energy Agency. Due to a conflict with the United States over its nuclear weapons program, the communist country pulled out of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Jan. 10, 2003.

2002 -- The militaries of South and North Korea agree to open a hotline to coordinate, among other tasks, work on relinking two sets of severed railways and roads across their heavily fortified border. The railways and roads have been reconnected, but they have yet to open for traffic because of political and military tensions between the two sides.

2010 -- The foreign affairs council of the European Union approves a free trade agreement with South Korea, aimed at eliminating or phasing out tariffs on 96 percent of EU goods and 99 percent of South Korean goods within three years. The Korea-EU FTA went into full effect on July 1, 2011.

2011 -- President Lee Myung-bak harshly rebukes electricity officials over the Sept. 15 nationwide blackouts as investigators determined that the wrong power forecast was mainly to blame for the unprecedented incident.

2012 -- Rep. Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer-turned-politician, clinches the presidential nomination of the main opposition Democratic United Party.

2013 -- The inter-Korean factory complex in North Korea begins trial-run production after a five-month hiatus, as the two Koreas discuss ways to ensure sustainable growth of the joint economic venture. South Korea later shut down the complex in 2016 in retaliation for North Korea's nuclear test and missile launch earlier that year.

2017 -- The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemns North Korea's latest missile launch, calling it a "highly provocative" move. The council issued the statement after holding an emergency meeting on North Korea's launch of a missile that overflew Japan. It followed the North's most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3.
(END)