Chronologies
China - Korea
Chronology
: President Yoon names First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin as new national security adviser and Lee Kwan-sup, the director of national policy at the presidential office, as his new chief of staff.
: President Yoon names First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin as new national security adviser and Lee Kwan-sup, the director of national policy at the presidential office, as his new chief of staff.
: South Korea signs a contract with the US government to buy 20 additional F-35A stealth fighter jets amid efforts to bolster response capabilities against North Korean military threats.
: North Korea convenes a key year-end meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss next year’s policy direction.
: South Korea signs a contract with the US government to buy 20 additional F-35A stealth fighter jets amid efforts to bolster response capabilities against North Korean military threats.
: North Korea convenes a key year-end meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss next year’s policy direction.
: US expresses serious concern over North Korea showing signs of starting the operation of a new light-water nuclear reactor.
: US expresses serious concern over North Korea showing signs of starting the operation of a new light-water nuclear reactor.
: North Korean leader Kim says the launch of an ICBM shows he won’t hesitate to launch a nuclear attack in event of enemy’s nuclear provocations
: North Korean leader Kim says the launch of an ICBM shows he won’t hesitate to launch a nuclear attack in event of enemy’s nuclear provocations
: LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical firm, begins construction of cathode plant in the United States.
: LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical firm, begins construction of cathode plant in the United States.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan launch a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the ICBM launch shows what option he has if the US makes the wrong decision.
: President Yoon appoints Cho Tae-yong as new director of the National Intelligence Service and Cho Tae-yul as foreign minister.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan share information on North Korea’s cryptocurrency theft and other malicious cyber activities.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan launch a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the ICBM launch shows what option he has if the US makes the wrong decision.
: President Yoon appoints Cho Tae-yong as new director of the National Intelligence Service and Cho Tae-yul as foreign minister.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan share information on North Korea’s cryptocurrency theft and other malicious cyber activities.
: US nuclear-powered submarine arrives in South Korea amid the possibility of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
: Industry data shows that combined vehicle sales of Hyundai and Kia in the US surpass 1.5 million units in 2023.
: US nuclear-powered submarine arrives in South Korea amid the possibility of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
: Industry data shows that combined vehicle sales of Hyundai and Kia in the US surpass 1.5 million units in 2023.
: South Korea and the US agree to complete establishment of guidelines on the planning and operation of a shared nuclear strategy by mid-2024.
: South Korea and the US agree to complete establishment of guidelines on the planning and operation of a shared nuclear strategy by mid-2024.
: Defense Minister Shin Won-sik meets eight NATO representatives to expand security and defense industry cooperation.
: Air Koryo, North Korea’s national carrier, operates first commercial flights connecting Pyongyang and Shenyang after a hiatus of nearly four years prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
: Defense Minister Shin Won-sik meets eight NATO representatives to expand security and defense industry cooperation.
: Air Koryo, North Korea’s national carrier, operates first commercial flights connecting Pyongyang and Shenyang after a hiatus of nearly four years prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
: North Korea increases activities in the truce village of Panmunjom after effectively scrapping an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement.
: North Korea increases activities in the truce village of Panmunjom after effectively scrapping an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan vow to strengthen cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan vow to strengthen cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan hold 1st trilateral working-level talks on North Korea cyber threats.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan hold 1st trilateral working-level talks on North Korea cyber threats.
: Washington Post reports that South Korea has indirectly supplied more 155-mm shells for Ukraine than all European countries combined.
: Security advisers of South Korea, the US, and Japan to discuss joint responses to regional geopolitical risks, including North Korean threats.
: Washington Post reports that South Korea has indirectly supplied more 155-mm shells for Ukraine than all European countries combined.
: Security advisers of South Korea, the US, and Japan to discuss joint responses to regional geopolitical risks, including North Korean threats.
: North Korea denounces Washington for having a “double standard” over South Korea’s spy satellite launch.
: North Korea denounces Washington for having a “double standard” over South Korea’s spy satellite launch.
: US approves a potential sale to South Korea of munitions for the operation of F-35 radar-evading fighter jets and related equipment.
: US approves a potential sale to South Korea of munitions for the operation of F-35 radar-evading fighter jets and related equipment.
: US sanctions a cryptocurrency mixer for serving as a “key money-laundering tool” of a North Korea-linked hacking group.
: North Korea says its spy satellite has taken photos of US military facilities in San Diego and Japan.
: Biden visits a Colorado-based factory of a South Korean wind tower maker in a trip meant to highlight his economic agenda.
: US and South Korea hold talks on lingering uncertainties regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and chips subsidy rules.
: US sanctions a cryptocurrency mixer for serving as a “key money-laundering tool” of a North Korea-linked hacking group.
: North Korea says its spy satellite has taken photos of US military facilities in San Diego and Japan.
: Biden visits a Colorado-based factory of a South Korean wind tower maker in a trip meant to highlight his economic agenda.
: US and South Korea hold talks on lingering uncertainties regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and chips subsidy rules.
: North Korea says its spy satellite has taken photos of the White House, the Pentagon and nuclear aircraft carriers docked at a US naval base.
: North Korea says its spy satellite has taken photos of the White House, the Pentagon and nuclear aircraft carriers docked at a US naval base.
: IAEA chief reports a “strong” water outflow from a reactor’s cooling system at North Korea’s key nuclear complex in Yongbyon.
: US regards South Korea’s partial suspension of a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement a “prudent” and “restrained” move.
: IAEA chief reports a “strong” water outflow from a reactor’s cooling system at North Korea’s key nuclear complex in Yongbyon.
: US regards South Korea’s partial suspension of a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement a “prudent” and “restrained” move.
: President Yoon says that China would not benefit from trilateral cooperation with North Korea and Russia.
: President Yoon says that China would not benefit from trilateral cooperation with North Korea and Russia.
: South Korea and the US discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the energy and supply chain sectors.
: President Biden expresses worries about North Korea’s “illicit” nuclear and missile programs during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
: South Korea and the US discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the energy and supply chain sectors.
: President Biden expresses worries about North Korea’s “illicit” nuclear and missile programs during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
: North Korea threatens to take more “visible and strategic” military actions after South Korea and the United States updated their joint deterrence strategies.
: North Korea and Russia sign a protocol on expanding cooperation following bilateral talks on economy, science and technology.
: North Korea threatens to take more “visible and strategic” military actions after South Korea and the United States updated their joint deterrence strategies.
: North Korea and Russia sign a protocol on expanding cooperation following bilateral talks on economy, science and technology.
: North Korea tests newly developed solid-fuel engines for new-type for a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile.
: President Yoon departs for San Francisco to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting.
: Top diplomats of South Korea, the US, and Japan hold three-way talks on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in San Francisco.
: North Korea tests newly developed solid-fuel engines for new-type for a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile.
: President Yoon departs for San Francisco to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting.
: Top diplomats of South Korea, the US, and Japan hold three-way talks on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in San Francisco.
: Defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States hold annual security talks as the two countries seek to update joint military strategies on North Korea.
: North Korea slams South Korea-UN Command defense chief meeting as attempt for “new war of aggression.”
: Defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States hold annual security talks as the two countries seek to update joint military strategies on North Korea.
: North Korea slams South Korea-UN Command defense chief meeting as attempt for “new war of aggression.”
: South Korea’s spy agency signs an agreement with the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity.
: South Korea’s spy agency signs an agreement with the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity.
: Top diplomats of South Korea and the US to hold talks amid tightening North Korea-Russia military ties.
: Top diplomats of South Korea and the US to hold talks amid tightening North Korea-Russia military ties.
: Pentagon declines to comment on a growing debate in South Korea over whether a 2018 inter-Korean military accord aimed at reducing border tensions should be suspended.
: South Korea and the United States announce a push for a “wide range of actions” to prevent North Korea’s cryptocurrency theft and cyber espionage.
: North Korea threatens to “pour a shower of shells” into South Korea over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets.
: Pentagon declines to comment on a growing debate in South Korea over whether a 2018 inter-Korean military accord aimed at reducing border tensions should be suspended.
: South Korea and the United States announce a push for a “wide range of actions” to prevent North Korea’s cryptocurrency theft and cyber espionage.
: North Korea threatens to “pour a shower of shells” into South Korea over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets.
: Hyundai and Kia announce that combined sales of their electric vehicles using their electric-only dedicated platform top 100,000 in the United States in the past two years.
: Hyundai and Kia announce that combined sales of their electric vehicles using their electric-only dedicated platform top 100,000 in the United States in the past two years.
: Report from the Institute for National Security Strategy says North Korea is trying to diversify its cybercrimes to offset the declining value of cryptocurrencies it steals to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
: Report from the Institute for National Security Strategy says North Korea is trying to diversify its cybercrimes to offset the declining value of cryptocurrencies it steals to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping tells North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he is “willing to make bigger contributions” to “defend the region’s peace, stability, development and prosperity.”
: Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea might have provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles and portable anti-aircraft missiles.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping tells North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he is “willing to make bigger contributions” to “defend the region’s peace, stability, development and prosperity.”
: Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea might have provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles and portable anti-aircraft missiles.
: UN expert panel overseeing sanctions against Pyongyang estimates North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber theft last year at $1.7 billion.
: UN expert panel overseeing sanctions against Pyongyang estimates North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber theft last year at $1.7 billion.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan stage joint air exercise for the first time near the Korean Peninsula.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan stage joint air exercise for the first time near the Korean Peninsula.
: FBI says thousands of remote IT workers contracting with U.S. companies have for years secretly sent millions of dollars of their wages to North Korea for use in its ballistic missile program.
: North Korean leader Kim vows to build a “forward-looking” and “far-reaching” relationship with Russia.
: State Department says the US will take “whatever steps” it can to hold to account those involved in arms transfers between North Korean and Russia.
: FBI says thousands of remote IT workers contracting with U.S. companies have for years secretly sent millions of dollars of their wages to North Korea for use in its ballistic missile program.
: North Korean leader Kim vows to build a “forward-looking” and “far-reaching” relationship with Russia.
: State Department says the US will take “whatever steps” it can to hold to account those involved in arms transfers between North Korean and Russia.
: Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, says North Korea tries to use artificial intelligence to accelerate writing malicious software.
: Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, says North Korea tries to use artificial intelligence to accelerate writing malicious software.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says that new export controls on chips by the United States will not have a significant impact on local businesses.
: South Korean defense firm Huneed Technologies reaches a preliminary agreement with US-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to develop an advanced radar for drones carrying out observation missions at high altitudes.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says that new export controls on chips by the United States will not have a significant impact on local businesses.
: South Korean defense firm Huneed Technologies reaches a preliminary agreement with US-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to develop an advanced radar for drones carrying out observation missions at high altitudes.
: Washington Post reports that two Russian ships have made at least five round trips between North Korea and Russia since mid-August, in what could be arms transfers.
: Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US, and Japan to hold talks over suspected DPRK-Russia arms transfer.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan install a trilateral communication hotline amid North Korea’s evolving military threats and China’s increasing assertiveness.
: United States expresses deep concerns about what North Korea will get in return for its suspected delivery of military equipment to Russia.
: US envoy hopes to work with South Korea on efforts to hold North Korean human rights abusers accountable.
: Washington Post reports that two Russian ships have made at least five round trips between North Korea and Russia since mid-August, in what could be arms transfers.
: Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US, and Japan to hold talks over suspected DPRK-Russia arms transfer.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan install a trilateral communication hotline amid North Korea’s evolving military threats and China’s increasing assertiveness.
: United States expresses deep concerns about what North Korea will get in return for its suspected delivery of military equipment to Russia.
: US envoy hopes to work with South Korea on efforts to hold North Korean human rights abusers accountable.
: North Korea condemns Japan’s move to accelerate its planned acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States as an “arrogant choice.”
: Royal United Services Institute reports that Moscow has begun large-scale shipments of ammunition from the North Korean port of Rajin to a Russian military facility on the Dunai.
: South Korea cracks down on firms building Taiwan navy submarines amid growing concerns over China’s possible economic retaliation.
: North Korea condemns Japan’s move to accelerate its planned acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States as an “arrogant choice.”
: Royal United Services Institute reports that Moscow has begun large-scale shipments of ammunition from the North Korean port of Rajin to a Russian military facility on the Dunai.
: South Korea cracks down on firms building Taiwan navy submarines amid growing concerns over China’s possible economic retaliation.
: A White House official says North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in Ukraine.
: A White House official says North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in Ukraine.
: Congressional report shows that North Korea is “on pace” to deploy sufficient nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to overcome the US missile defense.
: US brushes aside concerns about potential impact of Middle East conflict on Korean Peninsula security.
: Congressional report shows that North Korea is “on pace” to deploy sufficient nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to overcome the US missile defense.
: US brushes aside concerns about potential impact of Middle East conflict on Korean Peninsula security.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan stage a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise for the first time in seven years.
: North Korea defends its military spy satellite as “indispensable strategic option” to counter the United States.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan stage a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise for the first time in seven years.
: North Korea defends its military spy satellite as “indispensable strategic option” to counter the United States.
: South Korea’s top nuclear envoy meets Sweden’s special envoy for the Korean Peninsula to discuss the recent release of a US soldier from North Korean custody.
: South Korea’s top nuclear envoy meets Sweden’s special envoy for the Korean Peninsula to discuss the recent release of a US soldier from North Korean custody.
: 2023 Chicago Council Survey conducted by Ipsos shows that US citizens are divided over troop mobilization to defend South Korea in case of North Korean invasion.
: Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korean state-run think tank, suggests that North Korea may launch its military spy satellite between Oct. 10 and 26.
: South Korea to participate in a new round of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) talks in Malaysia.
: South Korea seeks 68 billion won ($50.42 million) in combined fines against Google and Apple for their violation of the country’s in-app payment laws.
: 2023 Chicago Council Survey conducted by Ipsos shows that US citizens are divided over troop mobilization to defend South Korea in case of North Korean invasion.
: Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korean state-run think tank, suggests that North Korea may launch its military spy satellite between Oct. 10 and 26.
: South Korea to participate in a new round of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) talks in Malaysia.
: South Korea seeks 68 billion won ($50.42 million) in combined fines against Google and Apple for their violation of the country’s in-app payment laws.
: LG Energy Solution to invest 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in Michigan plant to supply Toyota with batteries.
: LG Energy Solution to invest 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in Michigan plant to supply Toyota with batteries.
: North Korean Foreign Minister slams UNSC meeting over Pyongyang’s nuclear force-building policy in constitution.
: North Korean Foreign Minister slams UNSC meeting over Pyongyang’s nuclear force-building policy in constitution.
: Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States, and Japan denounce North Korea’s constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force.
: Washington officials say U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea in July, is in US custody after his release by the reclusive regime.
: Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States, and Japan denounce North Korea’s constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force.
: Washington officials say U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea in July, is in US custody after his release by the reclusive regime.
: North Korea’s ambassador vows stronger self-defense capabilities, claiming the Korean Peninsula faces the “immediate danger of nuclear war breakout.”
: Defense Minister-nominee Shin Won-sik vows to “firmly punish” North Korea in event of provocation.
: North Korea’s ambassador vows stronger self-defense capabilities, claiming the Korean Peninsula faces the “immediate danger of nuclear war breakout.”
: Defense Minister-nominee Shin Won-sik vows to “firmly punish” North Korea in event of provocation.
: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says military cooperation between North Korea and Russia undermines global peace.
: US senator calls for cooperation from South Korea in pushing for Washington’s technology export and investment curbs against China.
: President Yoon says the US-ROK alliance will end North Korean regime in event of nuclear weapons use.
: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says military cooperation between North Korea and Russia undermines global peace.
: US senator calls for cooperation from South Korea in pushing for Washington’s technology export and investment curbs against China.
: President Yoon says the US-ROK alliance will end North Korean regime in event of nuclear weapons use.
: North Korea slams President Yoon’s warning against Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation as “hysterical remarks.”
: US wireless chipmaker Broadcom Inc plans to seek an appeal against the South Korean regulator’s decision to slap a 19.1 billion won ($14.3 million) fine for unfair business practices against Samsung Electronics Co.
: North Korea slams President Yoon’s warning against Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation as “hysterical remarks.”
: US wireless chipmaker Broadcom Inc plans to seek an appeal against the South Korean regulator’s decision to slap a 19.1 billion won ($14.3 million) fine for unfair business practices against Samsung Electronics Co.
: South Korean foreign minister holds a series of meetings with his counterparts from the Netherlands and others for discussions on bolstering cooperation.
: South Korean companies urge the US to clarify from which foreign companies they are not required to import critical electric vehicle battery minerals under the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korean foreign minister holds a series of meetings with his counterparts from the Netherlands and others for discussions on bolstering cooperation.
: South Korean companies urge the US to clarify from which foreign companies they are not required to import critical electric vehicle battery minerals under the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: Top diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan agree to take stern measures against a potential arms deal between Russia and North Korea.
: US Department of Commerce announces final rule to restrict semiconductor subsidy recipients from expanding their manufacturing capacity in China.
: Top diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan agree to take stern measures against a potential arms deal between Russia and North Korea.
: US Department of Commerce announces final rule to restrict semiconductor subsidy recipients from expanding their manufacturing capacity in China.
: President Biden condemns North Korea’s continued violation of UNSC resolutions, but reaffirms his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
: President Yoon meets world leaders in New York for 2nd day to promote South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.
: US energy firm to appeal court decision in favor of South Korean state-run companies KEPCO and KHNP over nuclear reactor exports.
: United States Forces Korea (USFK) service member, a South Korean, and a Filipino are arrested on charges of smuggling drugs from the US via military mail.
: US official expresses concerns over North Korean detainees in China who are at the risk of torture if repatriated.
: South Korean and US defense officials discuss possible space cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in tabletop exercise.
: President Biden condemns North Korea’s continued violation of UNSC resolutions, but reaffirms his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
: President Yoon meets world leaders in New York for 2nd day to promote South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.
: US energy firm to appeal court decision in favor of South Korean state-run companies KEPCO and KHNP over nuclear reactor exports.
: United States Forces Korea (USFK) service member, a South Korean, and a Filipino are arrested on charges of smuggling drugs from the US via military mail.
: US official expresses concerns over North Korean detainees in China who are at the risk of torture if repatriated.
: South Korean and US defense officials discuss possible space cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in tabletop exercise.
: President Biden expresses his appreciation to South Korea and other countries for their assistance in the return of five US citizens detained in Iran.
: US district court dismisses a lawsuit that a US energy firm filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies (KEPCO and KHNP) from exporting nuclear power plants, determining it is not qualified to take the move.
: President Biden expresses his appreciation to South Korea and other countries for their assistance in the return of five US citizens detained in Iran.
: US district court dismisses a lawsuit that a US energy firm filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies (KEPCO and KHNP) from exporting nuclear power plants, determining it is not qualified to take the move.
: South Korea and the United States near completion of work to revise their joint deterrence strategy against evolving military threats from North Korea.
: South Korea and the United States near completion of work to revise their joint deterrence strategy against evolving military threats from North Korea.
: North Korean leader Kim meets Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to inspect Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers.
: North Korean leader Kim meets Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to inspect Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers.
: South Korea and the United States warn that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
: South Korea and the US hold deterrence talks on North Korean nuclear threats following Kim-Putin summit.
: South Korea and the United States warn that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
: South Korea and the US hold deterrence talks on North Korean nuclear threats following Kim-Putin summit.
: US Department of State approves a possible sale to South Korea of up to 25 F-35A radar-evading fighters and related equipment to help the East Asian ally maintain a “credible” defense capability.
: US Department of State approves a possible sale to South Korea of up to 25 F-35A radar-evading fighters and related equipment to help the East Asian ally maintain a “credible” defense capability.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of force ahead of its leader Kim Jong Un’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
: North Korean leader Kim and President Putin meet at Russia’s Vostochny spaceport ahead of the summit.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of force ahead of its leader Kim Jong Un’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
: North Korean leader Kim and President Putin meet at Russia’s Vostochny spaceport ahead of the summit.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un heads to Russia for summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid growing concerns over military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un heads to Russia for summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid growing concerns over military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
: US assistant secretary of state for economic affairs to visit South Korea and Japan for talks on ways to deepen economic cooperation.
: South Korea attends the fifth round of negotiations on the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Thailand.
: US assistant secretary of state for economic affairs to visit South Korea and Japan for talks on ways to deepen economic cooperation.
: South Korea attends the fifth round of negotiations on the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Thailand.
: FBI says that the North Korea-linked hacking group Lazarus is responsible for the theft of $41 million in cryptocurrency from online casino and betting platform Stake.com.
: FBI says that the North Korea-linked hacking group Lazarus is responsible for the theft of $41 million in cryptocurrency from online casino and betting platform Stake.com.
: New York Times reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may soon visit Russia for talks with Putin on arms deal.
: New York Times reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may soon visit Russia for talks with Putin on arms deal.
: Korean Central News Agency announces that North Korea has conducted a drill for “simulated tactical nuclear attack.”
: Korean Central News Agency announces that North Korea has conducted a drill for “simulated tactical nuclear attack.”
: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reports that North Korea has fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea.
: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reports that North Korea has fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea.
: 400;">: Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers Wang Yi and Park Jin hold telephone talks.
: 400;">: First cruise (Blue Star Dream) from China to South Korea in six years arrives in Jeju Island.
: 400;">: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li and South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Oh Young-ju meet in Beijing.
: 400;">: Media reports indicate that North Koreans have started to return to North Korea by bus from Dandong after Pyongyang’s Aug. 27 announcement lifting COVID-19 border restrictions.
: 400;">: 27th China-South Korea joint economic committee meeting is held in Beijing.
: 400;">: North Korea announces that North Korean citizens abroad can return home.
: 400;">: UN Security Council holds a briefing on North Korea’s failed satellite launch.
: 400;">: North Korea claims a failed satellite launch.
: 400;">: Ministers Wang Shouwen and Ahn Duk-geun attend the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in India and hold bilateral talks on the sidelines.
: 400;">: North Korea participates in the fourteenth China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun.
: 400;">: Post-pandemic passenger flights between China and North Korea resume with Air Koryo’s arrival in Beijing.
: 400;">: North Korean taekwondo athletes and officials arrive in Beijing, North Korea’s first delegation to travel abroad since 2020, to attend the opening ceremony of the ITF Taekwondo World Championships held in Kazakhstan.
: 400;">: The UN Security Council holds a briefing on North Korea’s human rights situation.
: 400;">: Minister of Unification Kim Yung-ho calls on China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors to North Korea and requests China’s help in sending North Korean defectors to South Korea.
: 400;">: China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announces it will allow Chinese group tours to 78 countries including South Korea.
: 400;">: CCP Politburo member Li Hongzhong and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend 70th anniversary celebrations of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang.
: 400;">: Chinese and South Korean finance ministers meet in India on the sidelines of a G20 meeting.
: 400;">: Wang Yi and Park Jin hold talks on sidelines of ASEAN foreign ministers’ meetings in Jakarta.
: 400;">: China and Russia block UNSC action on North Korea.
: 400;">: North Korea test-fires a Hwasong-18 ICBM.
: 400;">: UN Security Council holds a briefing on North Korea’s ICBM launch.
: 400;">: Chinese and North Korean officials in Pyongyang attend Chinese embassy celebrations of the friendship treaty’s 62nd anniversary.
: 400;">: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong meets South Korean Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Choi Youngsam in Beijing.
: 400;">: Ninth South Korea-China Economic Cooperation Forum is held in Hubei, China.
: 400;">: 2023 International Forum for China-South Korea-Japan Trilateral Cooperation opens in Qingdao.
: 400;">: North Korea finishes renovating the China-North Korea friendship tower in Pyongyang.
: 400;">: National Human Rights Commission of Korea urges China not to repatriate North Korean defectors.
: 400;">: South Korean soccer player Son Jun-ho is placed under arrest in China on bribery charges.
: 400;">: Pyongyang fires two short-range ballistic missiles.
: 400;">: United States imposes sanctions on two China-based North Korean nationals for supporting Pyongyang’s weapons development programs.
: 400;">: Democratic Party lawmakers start their China visit.
: 400;">: Kim Jong Un sends Xi Jinping a 70th birthday letter.
: 400;">: Pyongyang fires two short-range ballistic missiles.
: 400;">: South Korea’s oceans ministry announces agreement reached with China the previous week on illegal fishing.
: 400;">: Democratic Party lawmakers visit Beijing.
: 400;">: Korean prosecutors announce the indictment of a former Samsung Electronics executive for stealing trade secrets to replicate a chip plant in China.
: 400;">: Chinese foreign ministry summons South Korean Ambassador Chung Jae-ho in Beijing.
: 400;">: South Korea’s foreign ministry summons Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming in Seoul.
: 400;">: South Korea’s defense ministry lodges complaint with China and Russia over Jun. 6 KADIZ incursions.
: 400;">: Chinese and South Korean defense ministers Li Shangfu and Lee Jong-sup meet in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
: 400;">: UN Security Council holds briefing on North Korea’s May 31 reconnaissance satellite launch.
: 400;">: Pyongyang fails to launch a claimed military spy satellite.
: 400;">: Chinese and South Korean ministers Wang Wentao and Ahn Duk-guen meet on sidelines of the APEC trade ministers’ meeting in Detroit.
: 400;">: China’s Director General of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong meets South Korean counterpart Choi Yong-jun and Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Choi Youngsam in Seoul.
: 400;">: North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui meets Wang Yajun, the new Chinese ambassador to North Korea.
: 400;">: 23rd China-South Korea-Japan Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting is held in Incheon.
: Chinese Embassy in South Korea releases a statement pertaining to the Taiwan issue.
: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs comments on Yoon’s interview.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces China’s response to Yoon’s comment on Taiwan.
: South Korean Foreign Ministry summons Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming to oppose Chinese criticism of Yoon’s media comments on Taiwan.
: South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong hold telephone talks on Taiwan remarks.
: 17th China-South Korea Local Government Exchange Seminar is held in Changchun.
: Yoon comments on Taiwan in an interview with Reuters.
: Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun meets WPK international department director Kim Song-nam and delivers a message from President Xi.
: Xi sends a reply letter to Kim.
: South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho hosts a friendship event and meets Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.
: Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and People Power Party leader Kim Gihyeon meet in Seoul.
: Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun arrives in Pyongyang to start his official duties.
: Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives in Beijing to attend the China Development Forum and meet business and political leaders.
: China-South Korea passenger ferry services resume after COVID-related suspension since 2020.
: Yoon sends congratulatory message to Xi on gaining a third term as president.
: Top North Korean officials send congratulatory messages to Chinese counterparts after China’s National People’s Congress.
: Kim sends a congratulatory message to Xi on gaining a third term as president.
: South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin and Shandong Secretary-General Song Junji hold an economic cooperation dialogue in Seoul.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announces an agreement with Chinese counterparts to restore the number of bilateral flights to pre-pandemic levels.
: Chinese Assistant Commerce Minister Le Fei and South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin meet in Seoul.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announces plans to reduce reliance on China for key minerals from 80 to 50% by 2030.
: South Korean officials announce lifting of post-arrival Chinese test requirements for travelers from China from March 1.
: Chinese Embassy in Seoul announces plans to resume issuing short-term visas for South Koreans from Feb. 18.
: State media reports that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe sent a congratulatory message to North Korean counterpart Kang Sun-nam on the KPA’s 75th founding anniversary.
: South Korean officials announce plans to resume issuing short-term visas for travelers from China from Feb. 11.
: Fourth China-South Korea-Japan sports ministers’ meeting is held virtually.
: Chinese authorities reimpose mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from South Korea.
: Two Chinese warplanes fly through overlapping parts of China and South Korea’s air defense identification zones.
: Korea Internet & Security Agency reports a Chinese cyberattack against 12 South Korean academic institutions on Jan. 22.
: Ambassador Xing Haiming holds meetings with ROK Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Young-joo and Chung Woo-taik.
: Kim Jong Un receives a letter from Xi Jinping appreciating Kim’s condolence message on Jiang Zemin’s death.
: China stops issuing certain types of visas for South Korean citizens.
: Chinese and South Korean Foreign Ministers Qin Gang and Park Jin hold their first telephone talks.
: Chinese Embassy in South Korea releases a statement protesting the visit of several South Korean lawmakers to Taiwan.
: South Korea suspends short-term visa applications from its consulates in China, restricts new flights from China to Korea, imposes testing requirements for travelers from China, and tightens quarantine measures for all travelers from China.
: PRC and ROK foreign ministers Wang Yi and Park Jin hold virtual talks.
: President Yoon sends a condolence letter to Xi and visits a memorial altar at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to pay respects to Jiang Zemin.
: South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae Ho visits a mourning altar in Beijing to pay respects to Jiang Zemin.
: China, South Korea, and Japan virtually hold the 23rd Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting.
: Kim Jong Un sends condolence message to President Xi over the death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.
: PRC and ROK defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Lee Jong-sup meet at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Cambodia.
: China resumes online streaming of South Korean movie Hotel by the River.
: Xi Jinping sends a reply message to Kim Jong Un.
: Presidents Xi and Yoon meet on the G20 summit sidelines in Bali.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Liu Xiaoming and Kim Gunn hold telephone talks.
: South Korean Prosecutor General Lee One-seok meets Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming.
: China and South Korea hold a joint fishing committee meeting.
: President Yoon and Premier Li meet at ASEAN summits in Cambodia.
: Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Ruling People Power Party leader Chung Jin-suk and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang send separate condolence messages to President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on the Oct. 29 crowd accident in Seoul.
: South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho and China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao meet at South Korean National Day and Armed Forces Day Reception.
: President Yoon congratulates Xi Jinping after the 20th Party Congress.
: Kim Jong Un sends congratulatory message to Xi on the outcome of the 20th Party Congress.
: WPK sends a congratulatory message to Chinese counterparts on the opening of the 20th Party Congress.
: Xi Jinping sends a reply message to Kim Jong Un.
: Chinese government and party representatives send floral baskets to the Worker’s Party of Korea marking the WPK’s 77th founding anniversary.
: China and Russia at a UN Security Council meeting block a US-led effort to condemn North Korea’s Oct. 4 missile launch across Japan.
: Kim Jong Un sends a congratulatory message on China’s 73rd founding anniversary.
: Korea Enterprises Federation holds an annual meeting with Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming.
: DPRK Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Lin Songtian, and other officials address an unveiling ceremony for a Kim Il Sung monument at Nan Jiao Farm in Beijing.
: China’s foreign ministry confirms the resumption of Dandong-Sinuiju railroad freight operations after a five-month suspension due to COVID-19.
: Kim Jong Un sends a reply letter to Xi Jinping.
: China’s NPC Standing Committee head Li Zhanshu visits Seoul to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol and National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo.
: South Korea returns to China the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: Xi Jinping sends a message to Kim Jong Un on North Korea’s 74th founding anniversary.
: China and South Korea commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
: South Korea’s Unification Minister Kwon Young-se and Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers meet in Qingdao.
: Workers’ Party of Korea sends a “solidarity letter” to the Chinese Communist Party denouncing Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
: Chinese and South Korean Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Park Jin attend ASEAN meetings.
: North Korean Foreign Ministry through KCNA opposes Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
: Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao and South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho meet in Beijing.
: North Korea Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil sends a congratulatory message to Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe marking the 95th anniversary of the PLA’s founding.
: Kim Jong Un expresses support for China-North Korea ties to commemorate the anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
: Chinese and South Korean nuclear envoys Liu Xiaoming and Kim Gunn hold telephone talks.
: South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meetin Seoul.
: South Korea beats China 3-0 in East Asian men’s football match.
: Asiana Airlines resumes its Incheon-Beijing route in more than two years.
: 10th round of China-South Korea FTA follow-up talks is held virtually.
: Foreign ministers Wang Yi and Park Jin meet in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets outgoing South Korean Ambassador Jang Ha-sung in Beijing.
: Seoul hosts the China-South Korea-Japan International Forum on Trilateral Cooperation.
: An illegal Chinese immigrant is caught attempting to cross the Korean sea border by boat.
: South Korean Coast Guard seizes a Chinese boat for illegal fishing in South Korean waters.
: Chinese and South Korean defense ministers meet on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: Chinese and South Korean nuclear envoys hold telephone talks.
: President Yoon Suk Yeol names Seoul National University Professor Chung Jae-ho South Korea’s Ambassador to China.
: Yang Jiechi and South Korean National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han hold telephone talks.
: South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho expresses support for Xi Jinping’s new global security initiative.
: China and Russia block a UN Security Council resolution a day after North Korean missile tests.
: South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reports that two Chinese and four Russian warplanes entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone without notice.
: Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Park Jin hold virtual talks.
: South Korean media reports that North Korea has requested Chinese assistance on COVID-19.
: Vice President Wang Qishen leads a Chinese delegation to Yoon’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Seoul.
: Moon Jae-in and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishen meet in Seoul.
: Chinese Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming visits Seoul.
: China and North Korea resume an international trade fair online after a seven-year hiatus. They suspend Dandong-Sinuiju freight train operations over renewed COVID-19 concerns.
: President Moon Jae-in sends a condolence message to Xi Jinping over China Eastern airlines’ crash.
: US State Department announces new sanctions on entities and individuals in Russia, North Korea, and China for proliferation activities.
: Chinese (March 23) and Russian (March 24) military planes enter South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without notice.
: Kim Jong Un sends a condolence message to Xi Jinping over a China Eastern airline crash.
: China’s foreign ministry in a regular press briefing congratulates ROK President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on his election victory.
: PRC and ROK foreign ministers hold video talks.
: Korean Sport and Olympic Committee confirms South Korea’s decision not to appeal the Beijing Winter Olympics refereeing of short-track speed skating.
: NPC Vice Chairman Ji Bingxuan addresses a DPRK Embassy event commemorating Kim Jong Il’s 80th birth anniversary.
: China’s National People’s Congress Chairman Li Zhanshu meets ROK National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, who attends the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
: Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee departs for Beijing leading South Korea’s government delegation to the Winter Olympics.
: PRC State Council announces that from Feb. 1 China will implement RCEP tariffs on selected ROK imports.
: China announces tightened quarantine guidelines for travelers entering from South Korea.
: China and North Korea resume Dandong-Sinuiju freight train operations.
: ROK Coast Guard seizes a Chinese fishing boat accused for falsifying ship logs.
: Ninth China-ROK strategic dialogue is held online.
: DPRK Premier Kim Tok-hun and PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun meet in Pyongyang.
: Senior presidential secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun tells Yonhap, “As the host nation of the previous Olympics, taking a special interest in next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics is our duty and obligation.”
: At press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, President Moon Jae-in confirms that South Korea is not considering a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
: South Korea hosts the online 29th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum.
: Oh! My Gran premieres in mainland Chinese theatres after a ban on Korean movie releases since 2015.
: Twenty-two Chinese sailors are rescued from their fishing boat in South Korea’s southern waters after a rock collision.
: Yang Jiechi and ROK national security advisor Suh Hoon meet in Tianjin.
: Second shipment of Chinese urea arrives in Ulsan from Shandong.
: PRC Vice Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin and South Korea’s 2nd Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon hold the virtual joint economic committee session.
: Seo Ga-ram, head of the ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s trade cooperation bureau, holds online talks with the Jiangsu provincial government.
: First shipment of Chinese urea exports leaves Tianjin for arrival in Ulsan on Nov. 23.
: ROK presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl of main opposition People Power Party meets PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming in Seoul.
: Chinese and seven Russian warplanes enter KADIZ without notice according to the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff.
: PRC-ROK-Japan Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat holds talks in Seoul.
: PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming and ruling Democratic Party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung meet in Seoul.
: PRC Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao and DPRK Ambassador Ri Ryong-nam meet in Beijing.
: ROK Education Ministry announces that the China-ROK-Japan CAMPUS Asia cooperation program will expand to Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys hold video talks.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi and ROK Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome.
: PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming in Seoul pays condolences on the death of former ROK President Roh Tae-woo.
: President Moon Jae-in, Premier Li Keqiang, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend the virtual ASEAN Plus Three summit.
: Kim Jong Un commemorates the 71st anniversary of China’s participation in the Korean War.
: ROK Coast Guard seizes a Chinese fishing boat in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone near Jeju.
: DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho criticizes US policies toward China and Korea.
: ROK Coast Guard seizes a Chinese boat for illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea.
: A Chinese fishing boat sinks in waters off South Korea’s west coast, leaving at least one crew member dead.
: North Korea launches a short-range ballistic missile.
: Xi Jinping sends a reply to Kim Jong Un marking China’s National Day.
: ROK foreign ministry sends a complaint to Beijing on the illicit distribution of Korean cultural content.
: Kim Jong Un sends a message to Xi Jinping marking the PRC’s 72nd founding anniversary.
: China and South Korea hold fisheries talks via video.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys hold video talks.
: Kim Jong Un sends a reply letter to Xi Jinping marking the DPRK’s National Day.
: China and South Korea launch the 2021-2022 year of cultural exchange.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles. South Korea test launches a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Seoul and meets President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong.
: North Korea tests long-range cruise missiles.
: Culture Minister Hwang Hee confirms a South Korean film distributor’s cancellation of the planned release of Chinese Korean War movie “The Sacrifice” amid domestic protest.
: Xi Jinping sends a letter to Kim Jong Un celebrating the DPRK’s 73rd founding anniversary.
: PRC Embassy in Seoul denies that Beijing’s campaign restricting celebrity fans targets South Korean cultural industries.
: Yang Weiqun, the PRC Commerce Ministry’s director general for Asian affairs, and Lee Miyon, the ROK Foreign Ministry’s director general for bilateral economic affairs, hold video talks.
: China and South Korea hold ceremonies for repatriating the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese culture ministers hold virtual talks on trilateral cooperation.
: Inauguration session of the Committee for Future-Oriented Development of Korea-China Relations is held in Seoul.
: PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming addresses a forum in Seoul marking the 19th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi, ROK Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and DPRK Ambassador to Indonesia An Kwang-il attend the virtual ASEAN Regional Forum.
: DPRK Foreign Ministry criticizes Human Rights Watch’s account of China’s repatriation of DPRK defectors.
: Kim, during a visit to Friendship Tower marking the 68th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, expresses support for relations with China.
: After working-level talks with China, ROK Defense Ministry announces September plans to repatriate remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: Kim sends a verbal message of support to Xi for flood recovery efforts in Henan province.
: Beijing approves the entry of Pakistani rescue helicopters into Chinese territory to search for a South Korean mountain climber missing in the Himalayas since July 19.
: Xi sends a reply letter to Kim supporting China-DPRK relations.
: PRC President Xi and ROK Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum attend virtual APEC summit.
: PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming and People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok meet in Seoul.
: Xi and Kim exchange messages marking the 60th anniversary of the China-DPRK friendship treaty.
: ROK Foreign Ministry holds an exhibition for South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese artists with disabilities, “Trilateral Cooperation Blooms Through Art.”
: New Special US Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and PRC counterpart Liu Xiaoming hold telephone talks.
: Chinese veterans affairs official Li Jingxian and South Korean Defense Ministry’s international policy Director-General Kim Sang-jin meet in Xiamen and agree to hold a ceremony on September 15 to return the remains of Chinese troops killed in the Korean War.
: Kim Jong Un sends a message to Xi Jinping commemorating the 100th anniversary of the CPC’s founding.
: China’s special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs Liu Xiaoming and South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Noh Kyu-duk hold telephone talks.
: CPC International Liaison Department hosts a joint symposium with North Korea commemorating Xi Jinping-Kim Jong Un exchanges.
: PRC Embassy in Pyongyang holds photo exhibition marking the 2nd anniversary of Xi -Kim talks.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun and DPRK Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam publish op-eds in Rodong Sinmun and People’s Daily respectively on China-DPRK friendship.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Chung Eui-yong hold telephone talks.
: China and South Korea hold working-level talks on illegal fishing.
: PRC Premier Li Keqiang attends the virtual 2021 Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030 Seoul summit.
: PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets new DPRK Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam in Beijing.
: China’s foreign ministry expresses concern over the May 21 US-ROK joint statement.
: Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese officials attend the virtual meeting of ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and hold trilateral talks.
: North Korea announces plans to build an “export processing zone” near its border with China.
: South Korea hosts 10th annual China-Japan-South Korea International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation.
: China and South Korea participate in the 77th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
: Xi and Moon take part in a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate at the invitation of US President Joe Biden.
: Moon takes part in 2021 Boao Forum for Asia held in the Chinese province of Hainan, along with Xi and leaders of several other Asian nations.
: South Korea’s Oceans Ministry announces plans to conduct a joint operation with its Chinese counterpart to curb illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea.
: South Korean Director of National Security Suh Hoon reportedly tells US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Seoul that China and North Korea are preparing to hold a summit.
: North Korea’s Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam presents credentials to Xi.
: China opens the 129th Canton Fair online, with companies from South Korea and other countries in attendance at the virtual trade exhibition.
: Hyundai Motor Group announces plans to launch electric vehicles in China every year starting in 2022.
: Radio Free Asia announces that North Korea has completed construction of a new rail route to its border with China designed to isolate freight to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
: China and South Korea hold first meeting on exchanges and cooperation on maritime affairs.
: North Korea joins China and South Korea in condemning Japan’s decision to release contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
: Liu Xiaoming is appointed Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Korea Peninsula Affairs.
: Representatives from China and South Korea participate in ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM-Plus) conference.
: China and South Korea announce that they will coordinate and establish a mechanism for mutual recognition of their health codes and that they will support the inclusion of each other’s citizens in their COVID-19 vaccination programs.
: Foreign ministers Wang and Chung hold talks in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen.
: South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the second virtual meeting on “Northeast Asia Cooperation for Health Security,” which brings together director-level officials and ambassadors from South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and Mongolia.
: Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao meets North Korean Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam.
: In response to reports about North Korea firing two unidentified projectiles, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua asserts that China seeks a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue.
: China’s Tencent Music Entertainment enters a partnership with South Korea’s JYP Entertainment.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying asserts that it is China’s policy to maintain, consolidate, and develop China-North Korea relations and that China has repeatedly called on the UN Security Council to modify sanctions on North Korea to improve the humanitarian situation.
: North Korean leader Kim and President Xi pledge to develop bilateral ties.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry denies South Korean media reports blaming China for “yellow dust” sandstorm.
: Chinese government officially ratifies RCEP.
: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers government work report that calls for acceleration of free trade negotiations with South Korea to China’s top legislature.
: Eighth director-general-level meeting on the delimitation of maritime boundaries between China and South Korea takes place in video format.
: South Korea and China sign a revised memorandum of understanding on the establishment of direct communication lines between their air forces and navies.
: Chinese Ministry of Commerce and South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy hold meeting of chief negotiators for the second phase of free trade agreement negotiations.
: China’s CCTV and South Korea’s KBS sign an agreement to cooperate in various aspects of the cultural industry.
: North Korea appoints its former trade minister, Ri Ryong Nam, as ambassador to China.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Wang agree to push for high-level exchanges to further deepen bilateral relations.
: Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming calls on South Korea to support China’s position on Taiwan and Hong Kong in a meeting with Kwon Ki-sik, head of the Korea-China City Friendship Association.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon exchange New Year’s congratulatory messages.
: Xi expresses support for Korean denuclearization in a call with Moon and both agree to jointly develop China-South Korea relations.
: Independence Hall of Korea, a history museum in Cheonan, South Korea, announces plans to set up a memorial hall dedicated to China and South Korea’s joint fight against Japanese aggression prior to and during World War II.
: ROK President Moon Jae-in asserts the need to establish a foundation upon which bilateral China-South Korea relations will be elevated to a new height in opening remarks at a Plenary Meeting of the South Korean National Security Council.
: South Korea’s trade commission decides to uphold anti-dumping tariffs on imported Chinese H-shaped beams.
: Hyundai Motor Group announces that it has signed an investment contract with the government of Guangdong Province to establish an offshore fuel cell system production factory in Guangzhou, China.
: Kim Jong Un expresses gratitude to Xi and his intention to consolidate the China-North Korea friendship.
: Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea expresses gratitude to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for its congratulatory message.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his election as general secretary of the ruling party and calls for strong relations between the two countries.
: In his New Year’s Address South Korean President Moon Jae-in expresses his intent to expedite free trade agreement negotiations with China.
: In remarks at the Eighth Party Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asserts importance of prioritizing special China-North Korea relations.
: China’s Commerce Ministry introduces its 2021 work focus, which includes promotion of early implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), acceleration of talks for a China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, and active consideration of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2021.
: Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sends a congratulatory message to the Workers’ Party of Korea on its Eighth Party Congress.
: South Korea’s new chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk and PRC counterpart Wu Jianghao hold telephone talks.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and PRC counterpart Le Yucheng hold video talks.
: China’s foreign ministry affirms that Chinese and Russian aircraft “did not enter the airspace of other countries” in response to regional concerns over joint patrols.
: China and South Korea hold working-level fisheries cooperation talks.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese health ministers hold annual talks online.
: The 7th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus is held online.
: RFA reports that North Korea has sent anti-aircraft units to the Chinese border.
: PRC foreign ministry responds to US accusations of DPRK sanctions violations.
: Liu Youbin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, calls for strengthening cooperation with South Korea.
: PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Seoul.
: The 27th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting is held.
: The ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus is held online.
: The PRC Embassy and Korea-China City Friendship Association hold the China-ROK Friendship Youth Forum 2020 in Seoul.
: President Moon Jae-in and Premier Li Keqiang attend virtual ASEAN+3 summit, East Asia Summit, and RCEP summit.
: PRC foreign ministry denies reports about the suspension of Samsung’s chartered flight to China.
: PRC and ROK environment ministers hold online talks.
: ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn and PRC counterpart Luo Zhaohui hold video talks ahead of ASEAN-led summits.
: PRC and ROK fisheries officials agree to reduce fishing boat quotas in each other’s EEZ.
: North Korea’s Tongil Sinbo emphasizes the country’s “special relationship” and “undefeatable friendship” with China.
: Direct flights from Seoul to Beijing resume.
: A photo exhibition marking the Korean War’s 70th anniversary is held at the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution in Beijing.
: China and South Korea hold ninth round of talks online on expanding the FTA’s scope.
: Kim Jong Un receives a reply message from Xi.
: Xi addresses meeting marking the Korean War’s 70th anniversary. China and North Korea’s state media report on ceremonies at their memorial sites.
: Photo exhibition marking the Korean War’s 70th anniversary opens in Beijing.
: Kim Jong Un, accompanied by senior officials, visits the CPV cemetery in Hoechang County and lays a floral basket at the grave of Mao Anying, Mao Zedong’s son.
: The People’s Bank of China and Bank of Korea extend their currency swap deal.
: Ninth biennial ASEAN+3 Culture Ministers’ Meeting is held online.
: PRC State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and ROK Defense Minister Suh Wook hold telephone talks.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun attends a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War.
: Seoul city holds its Eighth “China Day” celebrations online.
: Xi Jinping and China’s top leaders visit Korean War exhibition at the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution in Beijing.
: Kim sends a reply message to Xi.
: NDRC Chairman He Lifeng and ROK Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki hold online economic ministerial talks.
: The 2020 China-South Korea Outstanding Women’s Forum is held online.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui attends ROK Embassy reception for South Korea’s National Foundation Day and Military Foundation Day.
: Kim receives a message from Xi on the WPK’s 75th founding anniversary.
: Kim sends a message to Xi on the PRC’s 71st founding anniversary.
: UN panel of experts reports on North Korea’s continued violation of UNSC sanctions.
: South Korea’s chief prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl and PRC Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming discuss law enforcement cooperation.
: Minister of China’s State Council Information Office Xu Lin and ROK Culture Minister Park Yang-woo address the 12th China-ROK high-level media dialogue online.
: Sixth China-Japan-Korea Industries Expo starts in Weifang, Shandong province, where the China-Japan-Korea (Weifang) Industrial Park is launched.
: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ROK Ministry of Education, and National Research Foundation of Korea host the 2020 China-Korea Humanities Forum.
: Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea reopens in Dandong.
: China’s foreign ministry reiterates Beijing’s “dual-track approach” on the 15th anniversary of the September 2005 Six Party Talks Joint Statement.
: Disney’s Mulan premiere leads South Korea’s box office despite boycotts.
: Kim Jong Un sends a reply message to Xi.
: A North Korean smuggler is shot dead while crossing the China-DPRK border.
: Changes to China’s national curriculum require northeast schools to replace Korean teaching material with Mandarin Chinese material according to local media reports.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, DPRK Ambassador to Indonesia An Kwang-il, and US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun attend the virtual 27th ASEAN Regional Forum.
: Luo Zhaohui, China’s vice-minister of foreign affairs, and Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korea Peninsula peace and security affairs, hold telephone talks.
: President Xi Jinping sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un on the 72nd anniversary of the DPRK’s founding.
: The 10th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and 21st ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting are held online.
: South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun holds separate meetings with PRC and Japanese ambassadors.
: Chongqing-Seoul international passenger flights resume, leading further post-COVID-19 flight resumptions between China and South Korea.
: PRC and ROK ministers participate in the 23rd ASEAN Economic Ministers Plus Three Consultations via video conference.
: Chinese and ROK economic ministers join 8th RCEP Ministerial Meeting via videoconference.
: PRC Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming donates $20,000 to the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute for coronavirus vaccine development.
: Chinese and ROK media executives join counterparts from Australia, India, Japan, and Turkey for an Asian Broadcast Union video conference on post-pandemic challenges.
: South Korean singer Lee Hyori suggests use of the stage name “Mao,” resulting in a backlash from Chinese netizens who accuse her of belittling former leader Mao Zedong.
: Yang Jiechi, member of CCP Central Committee Political Bureau and Director of the Central Commission Office for Foreign Affairs, meets Suh Hoon, Director of ROK national security office, in Busan.
: ROK Unification Minister Lee In-young and PRC Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sends congratulatory message to Kim Tok-hun, member of the Presidium of the WPK Central Committee Political Bureau and premier of the DPRK Cabinet, on his appointment as Prime Minister.
: The China-Korea Friendship Cultural Festival starts in Shanghai.
: US lifts sanctions against Macao-based Banco Delta Asia bank, accused of working with North Korea on money laundering.
: China-Japan-ROK Sports Culture Industrial Park opens in Yantai, Shandong.
: The ROK Foreign Ministry lowers its travel advisory for Hubei province.
: The ROK Coast Guard announces the arrest of 18 Chinese who entered the country illegally by boat in April-May.
: China’s Permanent Mission to the UN expresses “indignation and concern” over the leaking of a draft Midterm Report of the Security Council 1718 Committee Panel of Experts.
: China and South Korea hold virtual talks on expanding the bilateral FTA.
: Li Chenggang, PRC assistant minister for commerce, and Lee Seong-ho, ROK deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, lead 24th China-ROK Joint Economic Committee session in Qingdao.
: Kim Jong Un pays tribute to the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement.
: China-Japan-ROK Cultural and Creative Industrial Park is launched in Yantai, Shandong.
: ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit, and ASEAN Regional Forum hold Senior Officials Meetings via videoconference.
: South Korean civic groups protest China’s Hong Kong security law.
: South Korea’s nuclear negotiator Lee Do-hoon holds separate meetings with PRC and Russian ambassadors to South Korea.
: China, Japan, and South Korea hold a video conference for COVID-19 experts coordinated by the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
: Rodong Sinmun expresses “full support” for China on the Hong Kong issue.
: The Jilin Provincial Government Information Office holds a news conference on the China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone.
: South Korean civic groups boycott the movie Mulan in opposition to lead actress Liu Yifei’s pro-Chinese comments during Hong Kong democracy protests.
: After China’s National People’s Congress passes Hong Kong national security law, South Korea’s foreign ministry states that “it’s important for Hong Kong to continue to prosper and maintain stability while enjoying a high level of autonomy under China’s ‘one nation, two systems’ policy.”
: Korea Tourism Organization announces partnership with Ctrip, China’s leading online travel agency.
: WPK sends a floral basket to the CCP on the occasion of the CCP’s 99th founding anniversary.
: China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone is officially established.
: PRC and ROK officials hold video talks on fisheries cooperation.
: RCEP trade ministers hold a videoconference.
: A PRC military plane enters South Korea’s air defense identification zone.
: Rodong Sinmun publishes an article commemorating last year’s Xi -Kim summit.
: ROK authorities detain six Chinese suspected of having illegally entered South Korea via boat.
: China’s foreign ministry calls for US-DPRK dialogue.
: North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun supports Beijing’s position on Hong Kong.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Gunn hold a videoconference.
: Protesters in Seoul oppose Beijing’s Hong Kong security legislation and commemorate victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun and DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon meet in Pyongyang.
: ASEAN+3 economic ministers adopt a Joint Statement on mitigating COVID-19’s economic impact.
: PRC Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won meet in Seoul.
: Protesters in front of PRC Embassy in Seoul oppose Beijing’s Hong Kong security legislation.
: North Korea foreign ministry backs China’s security legislation for Hong Kong.
: China’s foreign ministry expresses Beijing’s opposition to THAAD deployment.
: Premier Li Keqiang expresses support for China-Japan-ROK economic cooperation.
: ROK Coast Guard arrests a Chinese national who illegally entered by boat in May 20 with seven others.
: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi states that US-DPRK dialogue is a prerequisite for resolving the Korean Peninsula issue and expresses support for China-Japan-ROK cooperation on COVID-19.
: China’s foreign ministry expresses China’s willingness to continue cooperation with South Korea and Japan on COVID-19.
: Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visits China, where he inspects the company’s Xian chip plant and meets Shaanxi Governor Hu Heping.
: South Korea’s defense ministry indicates that plans to repatriate remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War have been postponed this spring due to COVID-19.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese health ministers hold a trilateral teleconference.
: Leaders Xi Jinping and Moon Jae-in and defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Jeong Kyeong-doo hold separate telephone talks.
: China’s National Development and Reform Commission releases guidelines on establishing the China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone.
: First group of Korean electronics workers depart Seoul for Tianjin through fast-track entry.
: Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping exchange verbal messages of support.
: Two chartered flights depart from Seoul with the first group of Korean high-tech workers returning to Wuhan.
: Director-general talks between PRC and ROK foreign ministries reach an agreement to implement fast-track entry for each other’s business travelers from May 1.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gunn and PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: The Palace Museum and China Tourism Office in Seoul jointly launch an Online Spring Forbidden City Photo Exhibition.
: China’s foreign ministry indicates that China has sent coronavirus testing kits to North Korea.
: A CCP International Liaison Department senior official reportedly leads a delegation to North Korea amid speculation over Kim Jong Un’s health.
: The ROK Consulate General in Wuhan resumes full operations.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young and PRC counterpart Le Yucheng hold videoconference. ROK Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo and PRC counterpart Zhong Shan hold a videoconference.
: The China Tourism Office in Seoul and Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism organize an online exhibition.
: General Association of Koreans in China celebrate Kim Il Sung’s 108th birth anniversary.
: ASEAN+3 leaders adopt a joint statement on coronavirus cooperation.
: General Association of Koreans in China celebrate Kim Il Sung’s 108th birth anniversary.
: North Korea fires what appear to be cruise missiles and air-to-ground missiles into the East Sea on the eve of Kim Il Sung’s birthday anniversary and South Korea’s general elections.
: ASEAN+3 partners hold a Special Summit on COVID-19 Response via video.
: North Korea fires what appear to be two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: ROK foreign ministry calls in PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming for a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn after Beijing’s March 26 announcement on temporarily suspending the entry of foreigners.
: A Chinese military plane enters South Korea’s air defense identification zone.
: North Korea fires two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese foreign ministers hold a videoconference.
: State media reports Chinese provincial donations for coronavirus relief.
: Foreign ministries of China, ROK, and Japan hold conference call on coronavirus cooperation.
: Seoul protests Beijing municipality’s March 15 decision to quarantine incoming travelers at designated facilities at their own expense.
: Xi sends a message of support to Moon.
: China and South Korea hold their first working-level video conference under a new inter-agency mechanism led by the foreign ministries.
: China Cultural Center in Seoul organizes online educational and cultural activities.
: WHO calls COVID-19 a pandemic, and identifies China and South Korea as countries with “significantly declining” cases.
: North Korea test-fires short-range projectiles into the East Sea.
: Moon declares “war” against the coronavirus.
: US Treasury Department sanctions two PRC nationals linked to a North Korean state-sponsored cyber group.
: North Korea fires what appears to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. China’s foreign ministry calls for dialogue.
: ROK justice ministry indicates that 42 followers of the Daegu-based Christian sect Shincheonji are presumed to have entered the country from Wuhan over the last eight months.
: ROK education ministry announces a cooperation agreement with China to advise students against returning to school in each other’s countries.
: ROK foreign ministry announces that South Korea will provide about half its promised $5 million worth of aid to China.
: Foreign ministers Wang and Kang hold telephone talks.
: ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn and PRC Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Chinese cities start tightening entry measures against South Korean and other foreign visitors.
: China’s foreign ministry expresses support for cooperation with South Korea and Japan on fighting the coronavirus.
: WHO indicates that, besides the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, South Korea has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside China.
: A UN Security Council report shows that China and Russia supplied 22,730 tons and 30,180 tons of refined oil respectively to North Korea in 2019.
: Hubei Party Secretary Ying Yong and ROK Consul General in Wuhan Kang Seung-seok meet.
: Xi and Moon hold telephone talks.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese foreign ministers hold a trilateral videoconference on coronavirus cooperation.
: ROK foreign ministry sends a fourth round of relief supplies to Wuhan, and announces plans to send aid to other Chinese regions.
: Hubei Provincial Foreign Affairs Office Director Qin Yu welcomes new ROK Consul General in Wuhan Kang Seung-seok, who arrives with relief supplies.
: Kim Jong Un receives a congratulatory letter from the General Association of Koreans in China on the occasion of Kim Jong Il’s birth anniversary.
: Wang and Kang meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
: PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a Reuters interview during the Munich Security Conference reiterates China’s position on the Korean Peninsula.
: Korea Customs Service announces it has detected illegal shipments of 730,000 masks worth $1.18 million, mostly by Chinese nationals, in a crackdown since February 6.
: ROK Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae announces planned support measures for Chinese students returning to local universities.
: South Korea’s third evacuation plane arrives in Seoul from Wuhan carrying ROK citizens and Chinese relatives.
: Rodong Sinmun praises Xi’s medical site visits in China’s efforts to fight the coronavirus.
: China’s Permanent Mission to the UN expresses concern over leak of a UN draft report on DPRK sanctions.
: A Red Cross report shows that North Korea has dispatched about 500 workers to the border with China to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
: North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun reports the WHO’s recommendation not to use “Wuhan” in naming the coronavirus.
: A draft UN report shows that North Korea exported about $370 million worth of coal last year in violation of UN sanctions, largely via illicit ship-to-ship transfers with China.
: China’s foreign ministry in an online daily briefing expresses appreciation for South Korean assistance to fight the coronavirus.
: Moon receives the credentials of PRC Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming.
: ROK Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Gunn and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Ambassador Xing Haiming holds his first press conference at the PRC Embassy.
: An Asiana Airlines cargo flight leaves for Wuhan to deliver relief aid.
: ASEAN and dialogue partners hold a high-level meeting on RCEP in Bali.
: South Korea announces a temporary entry ban on foreigners who have recently been in Hubei, effective Feb. 4.
: South Korea’s second evacuation plane arrives in Seoul with nationals from Wuhan.
: Kim Song-nam, first vice director of the WPK, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport.
: KCNA reports that Kim Jong Un has sent a letter of sympathy to Xi, and that North Korea has sent financial aid to the CCP.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young and PRC Ambassador Xing Haiming meet in Seoul.
: Korean evacuees from Wuhan arrive in Seoul. Asan and Jincheon residents remove protest signage. President Moon thanks them via Twitter.
: North Korea is reported to have closed all air and railway routes across borders with China, and suspended plans to remove South Korean-built facilities at the Mt. Kumgang resort.
: South Korea reports its first suspected human-to-human transmission case of coronavirus.
: A South Korean plane arrives in Wuhan to evacuate South Korean nationals.
: South and North Korea temporarily close their Kaesong liaison office due to coronavirus concerns. North Korea plans to close all foreign transportation routes according to South Korean media.
: Jeju government and justice ministry discuss a temporary suspension of a visa-free program for Chinese visitors.
: New PRC Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming arrives in Seoul.
: Asan and Jincheon residents protest South Korea’s decision to bring evacuees from Wuhan. Jeju residents urge the regional government to ban Chinese travelers under its visa-free program.
: ROK foreign ministry announces medical aid to China from two Korean civic groups and separate plans to send China $5 million in aid to fight the coronavirus.
: In his reply to President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory birthday letter, Moon expresses support for Beijing’s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.
: ROK foreign ministry issues a travel alert for all of China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
: Foreign ministers Wang Yi and Kang Kyung-wha hold telephone talks.
: North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun reports strengthened measures against the coronavirus.
: KCDC designates China entirely as a “coronavirus watch” zone. ROK foreign ministry raises its travel advisory level for Wuhan and surrounding areas in Hubei province.
: Korean Air Lines is South Korea’s first airline to announce a planned suspension of flights to Wuhan.
: Foreign tour agencies report that North Korea has temporarily closed its borders with China.
: DPRK Embassy in Beijing hosts a Lunar New Year reception, attended by PRC Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and other officials.
: Korea-China Air Quality Joint Research Team releases research findings that show ultrafine dust in Beijing and Seoul contain similar elements.
: KCDC reports the first confirmed coronavirus case in South Korea. China’s foreign ministry indicates that China has been working with South Korea, Japan, and Thailand to control the spread of the virus.
: A DPRK delegation including North Korea’s Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to the UN Kim Song leave Beijing for Pyongyang.
: PRC and ROK officials attend the 19th Meeting of ASEAN+3 Tourism Ministers in Brunei.
: China and South Korea hold working-level defense talks in Seoul.
: Pak Kyong Il, vice-chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and chairman of the DPRK-China Friendship Association, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun, and other officials attend a friendship film show in North Korea.
: President Trump during a signing ceremony for a phase-one trade deal with China acknowledges China for “helping us with North Korea.”
: People’s Republic of China foreign ministry responds to Moon’s New Year press conference.
: Pak Kyong Il, vice-chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and chairman of the DPRK-China Friendship Association, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun, and other officials attend a friendship meeting in North Korea for Lunar New Year.
: The United States sanctions two DPRK entities including a China-based lodging facility for involvement in labor exports violating international sanctions.
: Moon discusses cooperation with China in his New Year’s press conference.
: The Korea Tourism Organization announces that about 3,500 Chinese students will travel to South Korea on winter field trips until early February.
: South Korea asks China to provide information on a new type of coronavirus.
: The Korean Centers for Disease Control begins reporting suspected cases of pneumonia-like illness spreading in China.
: South Korean activists protest Chinese actions against Hong Kong demonstrators.
: South Korean President Moon Jae-in in his New Year’s address expresses hopes for advancing China-ROK ties.
: South Korea seizes Chinese fishing boats for illegally fishing in its waters in the Yellow Sea.
: China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun expresses support for a China-Russia resolution aimed at easing sanctions on North Korea.
: After Kim declares plans to develop “new strategic weapons,” China urges the United States and North Korea to remain committed to peacefully resolving the nuclear issue.
: Kim Jong Un receives a New Year’s letter from the General Association of Koreans in China.
: 4th China-ROK-Japan Science and Technology Ministerial Meeting takes place in Seoul.
: Moon travels to China, where he meets Xi in Beijing and Premier Li Keqiang in Chengdu before the 8th China-ROK-Japan leaders’ summit.
: The 12th round of China-ROK-Japan trade talks take place in Beijing.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint on the Korean peninsula.
: An exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic relations, organized by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the DPRK Embassy in China, opens at the National Library of China.
: 2019 China-ROK-Japan Media Dialogue takes place in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
: People’s Daily organizes an ASEAN Plus Three media forum in Chengdu.
: China’s National Health Commission chief Ma Xiaowei, ROK health minister Park Neung-hoo, and Japan’s Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato Katsunobu hold the Tripartite Health Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul.
: North Korea confirms it has conducted a “crucial test” at a satellite launch site.
: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, ROK Deputy FM Kim Gunn, and Japan’s Senior Deputy FM Mori Takeo meet in Chengdu in preparation for the trilateral leaders’ summit.
: PRC Foreign Ministry’s Director-General of the Policy Planning Department Liu Jinsong and ROK Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Strategy Lee Jun-ho meet in Seoul.
: Vice Finance ministers and central bank representatives hold ASEAN Plus Three talks in Xiamen.
: China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Zhang Jun presents China’s position at a Security Council meeting on the Korean peninsula.
: A delegation of the All-China Journalists Association led by Hu Xiaohan, executive secretary and executive vice president of the association, arrives in Pyongyang.
: South Korean university students hold rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Seoul supporting Hong Kong protests.
: South Korean media reports that DPRK External Economic Affairs Minister Kim Yong-jae arrives in Beijing from Pyongyang.
: The 5th ROK-China Peace Diplomacy Forum takes place in Seoul.
: FM Wang visits South Korea, where he meets Moon, Kang, ruling Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan, and former UN Secretary-General and Boao Forum for Asia Chairman Ban Ki-moon.
: The 13th round of consular consultations takes place in Beijing between PRC Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs Cui Aimin and DPRK counterpart, who also meets China’s Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui.
: Shandong Party Secretary Liu Jiayi visits South Korea for events on local government cooperation and meetings with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young.
: The symphony orchestra of the State Grand Theatre of China performs in North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra Theatre.
: Duan Jining, director of international cooperation at the Chinese Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission, Sohn Byung-doo, ROK Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman, and Himino Ryozo, vice minister for international affairs at the Japanese Financial Services Agency, hold trilateral talks in Tokyo.
: A PRC military plane violates KADIZ, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
: North Korea test-fires two short-range projectiles.
: A planned China tour by North Korea’s Moranbong band is suspended according to ROK media.
: The 16th round of China-ROK-Japan FTA negotiations take place in Seoul.
: Rodong Sinmun reports on the 66th anniversary of the conclusion of the China-DPRK agreement on economic and cultural cooperation.
: The 21st China-ROK-Japan Environment Ministers’ Meeting takes place in Kitakyushu.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson state that China and South Korea are communicating on issues concerning student clashes over Hong Kong.
: Students hold rally near the PRC Embassy in Seoul supporting Hong Kong protests.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry says that overseas Chinese student opposition to separatist activities in Hong Kong are “understandable” but calls for compliance with local laws.
: Students at Yonsei University hold a silent march against the crackdown on Hong Kong protestors. Posters carrying the same message emerge on other campuses including Korea University of Foreign Studies and Pusan National University.
: South Korea’s Oceans Ministry reports it has seized three Chinese fishing boats for illegal fishing in its EEZ in the Yellow Sea.
: PRC and ROK defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Jeong Kyeong-doo hold bilateral talks in Bangkok.
: Seoul raises its travel warning level for Hong Kong.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang expresses opposition to US-ROK military drills in mid-November.
: ROK Foreign Ministry expresses concern over intensifying protests in Hong Kong.
: PRC Embassy in Seoul states that the mainland Chinese students who removed “liberate Hong Kong” banners at Yonsei University on Nov. 12 were “expressing their indignation and opposition to words and actions that harm Chinese sovereignty and distort the facts.”
: ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus members, including China and South Korea, hold counter-terrorism drills.
: Students at Seoul National University and Korea University hold protests supporting the antigovernment protest movement in Hong Kong.
: Liaoning Daily reports a four-day visit to North Korea by a Chinese delegation led by Liaoning provincial party secretary Chen Qiufa, at the invitation of the WPK’s North Pyongan provincial committee. The Chinese delegation met Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee Ri Su-yong and Minister of External Economic Relations Kim Yong-jae.
: South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency and China’s Xinhua News Agency sign an agreement to expand media cooperation.
: A delegation of the Education Commission led by Chairman Kim Sung Du leaves Pyongyang to visit China.
: The 22nd ASEAN Plus Three summit takes place in Bangkok.
: PRC and ROK environment ministers Li Ganjie and Cho Myung-rae hold talks in Seoul.
: Students hold a rally in Seoul supporting anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
: North Korea test-fires two short-range projectiles.
: Korean Central News Agency publishes Xi’s reply to Kim’s congratulatory message on China’s 70th founding anniversary.
: ROK Ambassador for Climate Change Yoo Yeon-chul and PRC Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s director-general for climate change Li Gao lead climate change talks in Haikou.
: A PRC military plane enters the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) after sending prior notification, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
: China-DPRK Sci-Tech Exhibition in Health and Sports Field takes place in Pyongyang.
: You Ki-jun, director-general of the ROK Foreign Ministry’s International Legal Affairs Bureau, and Wang Xiaodu, China’s ambassador for Yellow Sea Affairs, meet in Seoul for working-level talks on EEZs.
: Delegation of the China-DPRK Friendship Parliamentary Group led by Chairman Choe Sang Gon, president of Kim Il Sung University and minister of Higher Education, visits China.
: ROK Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min visits Beijing. He meets Lt. Gen. Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, for the 5th China-ROK vice ministerial strategic defense dialogue.
: The Xiangshan Forum takes place in Beijing. PRC Defense Minister Wei Fenghe holds separate meetings with ROK and DPRK vice defense ministers Park Jae-min and Kim Hyong-ryong on the sidelines.
: Xinhua News Agency delegation led by Vice President Zhang Sutang arrives in Pyongyang.
: During his inspection tour of Xian, PRC Premier Li Keqiang visits Samsung Semiconductor Co.’s chip foundries.
: The first album of K-pop group SuperM, which includes a Chinese member, tops the US Billboard 200 albums chart for the week of October 19.
: Director of China’s CMC political affairs department Senior Vice Adm. Miao Hua visits North Korea and meets Kim Su-gil, director of the DPRK army’s general political bureau.
: A 19-member delegation of Chinese regional government officials visit South Korea as part of a Foreign Ministry exchange program launched in 1999.
: A delegation of North Korea’s Academy of Social Sciences, led by its President Ri Hye Jong, leaves Pyongyang to visit China.
: A friendship delegation led by Kim Yong Chol, chairman of the South Hwanghae Provincial People’s Committee, leaves Pyongyang to visit China.
: South Korea’s Coast Guard seizes two Chinese fishing boats for illegal fishing in its EEZ in the Yellow Sea.
: Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and China-Korea Friendship Association hold a reception in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of China-DPRK relations, attended by DPRK Ambassador Ji Jae Ryong.
: ROK Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries reports that it has seized four Chinese boats for illegal fishing in South Korea’s EEZ in the Yellow Sea.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses hopes for US-DPRK dialogue.
: DPRK State Stamp Bureau issues a new stamp to commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China.
: Cultural events in China mark the WPK’s 74th founding anniversary and the 70th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic relations.
: Xi and Kim exchange congratulatory messages on the 70th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic ties.
: Rodong Sinmun dedicates an article to the 70th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic relations.
: South Korean media reports that North Korea sent a group of working-level officials to Dandong, Liaoning province, ahead of planned US-DPRK nuclear talks in Sweden.
: Koreans in China and Chinese guests visit North Korea for a meeting of the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation.
: PRC Foreign Ministry says China welcomes US-DPRK efforts to resume dialogue.
: North Korea test-fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) which the ROK military calls an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
: Kim sends a congratulatory message to Xi on the PRC’s 70th founding anniversary.
: China identifies six Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War, whose remains were reburied in the cemetery of Korean War martyrs in Shenyang after being returned from South Korea.
: Confucius Institute opens North Korea’s first Chinese center at Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun addresses a reception in Pyongyang marking China’s 70th founding anniversary, attended by Pak Pong-ju, Vice Chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission.
: FM Wang and ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha hold talks on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.
: The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency says it will open two new offices in Harbin and Changchun, capitals of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces.
: Chairman of the Architects Union of Korea’s Central Committee Sim Yong Hak leads a DPRK delegation to the 10th Weihai international ecological environment festival in China.
: China’s General Administration of Customs says China will ban pig imports from South Korea given reported cases of African swine fever.
: Choe Sang Gon, president of Kim Il Sung University and minister of Higher Education, leads a university delegation to China to attend Yanbian University’s 70th founding anniversary celebrations.
: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs Lee Do-hoon meet in Beijing.
: At a news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Wang expresses Chinese support for DPRK efforts to resume talks with Washington.
: The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China-Korea Friendship Association host a reception in Beijing marking North Korea’s founding anniversary, attended by DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong and Chinese officials.
: North Korea launches two short-range projectiles.
: President Xi Jinping sends a congratulatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on North Korea’s founding anniversary.
: DPRK Ambassador Ji Jae-ryong addresses “DPRK Day” on the sidelines of the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition, attended by officials of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
: DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong hosts a banquet in Beijing marking the 71st anniversary of North Korea’s founding.
: South Korea’s National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun and PRC counterpart Wang Jun sign a deal in Beijing easing tax audit burdens for select South Korean companies.
: People’s Republic of China State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits North Korea, where he meets his DPRK counterpart Ri Yong-ho and WPK Vice Chairman Ri Su-yong, and visits a cemetery of the Chinese People’s Volunteers.
: Culture ministers at the 11th China-Japan-ROK Cultural Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Incheon Metropolitan City sign an agreement outlining a 10-year vision for trilateral cultural cooperation, and designate China’s Yangzhou, South Korea’s Suncheon, and Japan’s Kitakyushu as Culture Cities of East Asia 2020.
: Minju Joson, the daily of the DPRK’s Cabinet, publishes an article claiming Washington is using Hong Kong protests to strengthen its position in trade disputes with China.
: Fourteen South Korean lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties attend the sixth China-ROK meeting of next-generation political leaders in Beijing sponsored by the Korea-China Leaders Society and the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs.
: Tenth High-level Forum on Northeast Asia Cooperation, 12th China-Northeast Asia Expo, and 1st China-Japan-ROK Entrepreneur Summit open in Changchun, Jilin province. Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua, Jilin Party Secretary Bayin Chaolu, Chairman of South Korea’s North Economic Cooperation Commission Kwon Goo-hoon, and Vice Minister of the PRC Commerce Ministry Wang Shouwen deliver speeches.
: The 19th Greater Tumen Initiative meeting in Changchun renews calls on North Korea to rejoin the regional development initiative.
: ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visits Beijing to meet PRC counterpart Wang Yi and Premier Li Keqiang, and hold the 9th China-Japan-ROK meeting of foreign ministers, the first such meeting since August 2016.
: Kim Su Gil, director of the Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau, arrives in Beijing for meetings with Chinese officials including Zhang Youxia, CMC vice chairman; Miao Hua, director of the CMC Political Affairs Department, and Song Tao, head of the CPC International Liaison Department.
: Rodong Sinmun commentary expresses North Korea’s support for China’s “one country, two systems” principle.
: DPRK Foreign Ministry representative in a Korean Central News Agency article expresses North Korea’s support for China’s handling of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea launches two projectiles on Aug. 6.
: South China Morning Post reports US investigations into financial transactions involving Chinese banks that allegedly funded North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses support for dialogue between Japan and South Korea.
: ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in Bangkok on the sidelines of annual ASEAN meetings.
: South Korea’s National Assembly adopts a resolution condemning an airspace incursion by Russian and Chinese warplanes, and Japan’s territorial claim to Dokdo/Takeshima.
: PRC Foreign Ministry praises Rodong Sinmun for reasserting Beijing’s position on Hong Kong.
: China’s Foreign Ministry says China hopes for the resumption of US-DPRK talks after Pyongyang fires two unidentified projectiles into the sea.
: South Korea’s Consulate General in Hong Kong issues a travel advisory to South Korean nationals traveling to Hong Kong amid pro-democracy protests.
: PRC Ministry of National Defense denies the violation of international regulations on airspace during the joint patrol exercises with Russian counterparts on July 23.
: Air Koryo resumes flights between Pyongyang and Dalian.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho and PRC counterpart Luo Zhaohui lead talks in Beijing on the demarcation of maritime boundaries.
: Chinese and Russian warplanes participating in a joint military exercise enter the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone according to the ROK Defense Ministry.
: US Justice Department announces that four Chinese and a Chinese company were charged with assisting DPRK entities involved in weapons of mass destruction proliferation.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce announces anti-dumping measures on imported stainless steel products from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
: Beijing-based Koryo Tours begins sales of a tour package to Pyongyang for a World Cup qualification soccer match between South and North Korea.
: Zhou Qiang, chief justice and president of China’s Supreme People’s Court, and DPRK Central Court President Kang Yun-sok meet in Beijing and sign an MOU on judicial cooperation in Beijing.
: Guo Shengkun, CPC Political Bureau member and head of the CPC Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, meets DPRK Central Court President Kang Yun Sok in Beijing.
: Vice President of the China Public Diplomacy Association Hu Zhengyue assesses China-Japan-ROK cooperation in China Daily.
: PRC Foreign Ministry confirms arrival in Beijing of a delegation of the WPK International Department led by First Vice Department Director Kim Song Nam, and departure to Pyongyang of a Chinese delegation led by Lu Kang, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department.
: Rodong Sinmun highlights China-DPRK relations on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the signing of the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance.
: PRC Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and DPRK Ambassador to China Chi Jae Ryong address a banquet in Beijing celebrating the 58th anniversary of the signing of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance.
: A friendship delegation of North Korea’s Ministry of People’s Security headed by Councilor Ri Song Chol departs North Korea to visit China.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announces a train tour across China by 100 South Koreans to mark the centennial anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai on April 11, 1919.
: Opening ceremony of China (Guangxi)-South Korea Friendly Exchange Week is held in Nanning.
: 2019 Korea Smart City Inside China event is held in Xian, where the ROK Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology promotes South Korea’s presence in China’s smart city market.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses China’s support for the meetings among US, ROK, and DPRK leaders in Panmunjom.
: DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong presents a floral basket from the Workers’ Party of Korea to deputy head of the CCP International Liaison Department Wang Yajun to mark the 98th founding anniversary of the CCP.
: China’s top political advisor Wang Yang and Kim Wan Su, chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for National Reunification of the DPRK, meet in Beijing.
: Presidents Xi and Moon meet in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
: Conference held in Changchun to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of friendly relations between Jilin province and Gangwon-do in South Korea, where Jilin’s Deputy Party Secretary Jing Junhai and Gangwon-do Governor Choi Moon-soon deliver speeches.
: China-Japan-ROK Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum is held in Yantai, Shandong province.
: South Korea, China, and Japan open a joint photo exhibition at the Seoul Metro Art Center featuring 20 years of trilateral cooperation.
: Xi visits North Korea and meets Kim Jong-un.
: Sixth China-Russia Expo concludes in Harbin, where North Korean artists display their work at an art exhibition on the sidelines.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho and representative from other ministries meet a Chinese delegation led by PRC Assistant Commerce Minister Li Chenggang for the 23rd Joint Economic Committee session in Seoul.
: Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping publishes article on China-DPRK ties in the DPRK’s mainstream media.
: ROK Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization data shows that Chinese tourists were the national group that spent the most in South Korea in the first quarter of 2019, followed by Taiwanese and Americans.
: South Korean politicians, students, and netizens support anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, according to a South China Morning Post report.
: Guangzhou and Gwangju representatives at a meeting in Seoul share experiences of 23 years of sister-city friendship and cooperation.
: South Korea’s Presidential Office, Cheong Wa Dae, says Huawei’s 5G poses no immediate threat to national security.
: Beijing-based tour agency Koryo Tours launches a stamp design competition for Pyongyang’s annual Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon to celebrate the April 15 birthday of DPRK founder Kim Il Sung.
: Ban Ki-moon visits China for general meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development and celebrations of 2019 World Environment Day in Hangzhou. Ban meets China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Ganjie and Zhejiang Provincial Party Secretary Che Jun.
: ROK Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and PRC Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: Several Chinese TV series are scheduled to compete in the 14th Seoul International Drama Awards in August, following a two-year absence in protest against THAAD.
: Huawei Technologies Co. opens its first 5G lab in Seoul to expand its presence in the South Korean market.
: Delegation of the DPRK’s General Administration of Civil Aviation led by General Director Rim Kwang Ung leaves Pyongyang for China.
: Wuxi Deputy Mayor Wang Jinjian and a Jiangsu provincial delegation visit South Korea and Japan to deepen trade and economic cooperation.
: Kim Sang-jo, head of South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, and Gan Lin, vice minister of China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, sign an MOU in Seoul on antitrust cooperation.
: Delegation of the DPRK’s Institute of International Studies headed by President O Yong Ran leaves Pyongyang for China.
: Seoul and Beijing municipal officials have a closed-door meeting on reducing fine dust particles on the sidelines of the 2019 Seoul International Forum on Air Quality Improvement.
: Hyundai Transys Inc. announces that it has signed an MOU with BYD Co. Ltd, China’s largest electronic vehicle maker, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
: Delegation of North Korea’s Red Cross Society, led by Executive Vice Chairman Paek Yong Ho, leaves Pyongyang for China.
: Gan Lin, vice minister of China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, and Ji Chul-ho, vice chairman of South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, meet on the sidelines of the China competition policy forum in Hainan Province.
: ROK National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang leads a parliamentary delegation to China, where he meets CCP Political Bureau member Yang Jiechi, chief of the NPC Standing Committee Li Zhanshu, and Vice President Wang Qishan.
: South Korean President Moon Jae-in grants credentials to newly-appointed ambassadors, including ROK Ambassador to China Jang Ha-sung.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announces that it has granted low-cost carriers rights to increase the number of flights to China.
: Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from China, South Korea, and Japan attend the 19th Trilateral Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in Nadi, Fiji.
: Chief of South Korea’s National Council on Climate and Air Quality Ban Ki-moon calls for closer cooperation with China on improving air quality in both countries.
: Chinese and South Korean officials hold a memorial ceremony in Shanghai for Korean independence fighter Yun Bong-gil.
: South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki visits China to attend the Belt and Road Forum and to meet China’s Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and AIIB President Jin Liqun.
: South Korean Navy delegation led by Rear Adm. Kwon Heak-min attends an international fleet review in Qingdao.
: Korean Central News Agency releases Kim Jong Un’s response to Xi’s April 10 congratulatory message.
: South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul meets China’s Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong in Seoul.
: South Korean parliamentary delegation attends commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean provincial government in Shanghai and meets Korean residents and business leaders in Guangzhou.
: President Xi issues a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un for his re-election as chairman of the State Affairs Commission.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation announce plans for joint research with China on the health impact of fine dust air pollution and other projects.
: The 15th round of China-ROK-Japan trade talks is held in Tokyo.
: China and North Korea open a new cross-border bridge along the Yalu River linking Jian and Manpo.
: Ambassador Jang Ha-sung arrives in Beijing as new ROK ambassador to China.
: South Korean National Assembly’s Special Committee on Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation led by Representative Lee In-young tours Chinese and Russian border areas with North Korea.
: Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Guangdong Gov. Ma Xingrui hold economic cooperation talks in Seoul.
: ASEAN Plus Three finance and central bank deputies meet in Chiang Mai.
: China and South Korea hold a ceremony in Seoul casketing the remains of 10 Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War.
: South Korea’s Industry Ministry expresses concern over China’s anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled stainless steel plates.
: South Korean Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo meets Chinese officials in Beijing, including National Energy Administration Chief Zhang Jianhua and Zhang Mao of the State Administration for Market Regulation.
: South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon attends the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, meets China’s Premier Li Keqiang, and visits Chongqing.
: South Korean media report arrival of a senior North Korean official in Beijing, received by China’s International Liaison Department and DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong.
: North Korea’s Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Premier Pak Pong Ju send a joint message of condolences to Chinese leaders after a deadly explosion at a Chinese chemical factory.
: South Korean Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yong-woo visits Beijing and Shanghai to meet Chinese defense officials.
: South Korean police data reveal that Chinese nationals accounted for more than 40% of foreign drug offenders arrested in South Korea in 2018.
: South Korean Coast Guard seizes a Chinese fishing boat suspected of illegal fishing in waters near Baengnyeong Island.
: South Korean media report cancelation of March 2 China-DPRK investor relations meeting in Shenyang.
: South Korean media report China’s strengthening of visa controls of DPRK workers.
: South Korea’s Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency announces a cooperation agreement on veterinary medicine with China Institute of Veterinary Drug Control.
: South Korean Defense Ministry announces that 10 of the 15 sets of Korean War remains excavated in border areas over the last two years were of Chinese soldiers.
: China’s Foreign Ministry welcomes US-ROK decision to scale down joint military drills.
: Jeju provincial government announces it will nullify the approval of Shanghai-based Greenland Group’s medical center to operate South Korea’s first for-profit hospital.
: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses hopes for progress on Korean Peninsula denuclearization and peace.
: South Korea’s Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae and Chinese counterpart Li Ganjie hold talks in Beijing.
: Chinese military plane enters the ROK’s air defense identification zone.
: Harbin railway station reopens after renovations without restoring markings commemorating Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun.
: Study by South Korea’s National Information Resources Service confirms that China is largely responsible for fine dust over the Korean Peninsula.
: North Korean art troupe performs in Beijing. President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan watch the Jan. 28 performance and meet North Korean Delegation Chief Ri Su Yong.
: Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, arrives in Beijing leading an art delegation.
: China and South Korea hold 23rd session of their Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation.
: South Korea’s icebreaking vessel helps evacuate 24 isolated Chinese researchers in the Antarctic.
: Senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol arrives in Beijing on his way to Pyongyang after talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington.
: North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong Chol and officials of North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra arrive in Beijing on separate trips.
: China and South Korea hold working-level EEZ talks in Xiamen.
: China’s nuclear envoy Kong Xuanyou visits Seoul to meet South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon and Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
: Two ROK Navy ships arrive in Shanghai for commemoration ceremony of the establishment of Korea’s provisional government during Japanese colonial rule.
: South Korean liquefied petroleum gas carrier accidentally leaks gas in waters near Dongying port in Shandong province.
: ROK Foreign Ministry and presidential office express support for Kim Jong Un’s visit to China.
: Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju, and other senior DPRK officials visit China. Kim meets Xi Jinping on Jan. 8.
: Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in an MBC radio interview challenges Beijing’s denial of China’s role in fine dust over the Korean Peninsula.
: Chinese military plane enters South Korea’s air defense identification zone three times without warning.
: ROK Ministry of Justice immigration office in Jeju grants refugee status to a Chinese broker who helped hundreds of North Korean defectors to South Korea.
: ROK Defense Ministry’s Director General for International Policy Lee Won-ik and PRC counterpart Song Yanchao hold 17th round of defense policy consultations in Beijing.
: ROK and DPRK delegations attend a regional conference in Xian on forestry cooperation hosted by a South Korean civic group and Chinese scientists association.
: PRC Foreign Ministry delegation visits South Korea to resume a working-level exchange program suspended over the THAAD dispute.
: China, South Korea, and Japan hold the 14th round of trilateral FTA talks in Beijing.
: DPRK Foreign Ministry Ri Yong Ho visits China for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other leaders.
: China’s Commerce Ministry and South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy hold working-level talks in Beijing on trade and investment promotion.
: South Korean government data indicates a 252 percent on-year increase in new FDI pledges from China to $2.56 billion, driven by the service industry.
: PRC military aircraft enters ROK airspace without warning.
: Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon visits Beijing for events marking the 25th anniversary of sister-city ties.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese health ministers hold trilateral talks in Japan.
: PRC and ROK trade officials hold 18th bilateral trade remedy meeting in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announces the resumption of joint fishing patrols with China in the Yellow Sea through Nov. 26.
: ROK Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon meets PRC State Councilor Wang Yong on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Seoul Conference on economic cooperation.
: Korean Central News Agency reports on Kim Jong Un’s visit to Sinuiju to guide his master plan for developing the China-DPRK border city.
: Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese agriculture ministers meet in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry releases its first white paper under the Moon administration reviewing ties with China and other regional players.
: 18th round of China-ROK fisheries talks produces an agreement on annual quotas in each other’s exclusive economic zones in 2019.
: Kim Jong Un and other DPRK officials attend a joint performance by Chinese and DPRK artists in Pyongyang.
: Chinese arts delegation led by Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang arrives in North Korea at the invitation of the DPRK Ministry of Culture.
: PRC military aircraft enters ROK airspace without warning.
: Bank of Korea’s Business Survey Index shows worsening expectations among South Korean manufacturing companies amid escalating US-China trade tensions.
: DPRK Vice Minister of Urban Management Choe Song Chol and PRC Ambassador Li Jinjun attend a ceremony marking the renovation of a cemetery of Chinese People’s Volunteers killed in the Korean War.
: ROK Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk visits Beijing for the Xiangshan military forum.
: Li Hongzhong, Tianjin’s CPC secretary and Politburo member, visits South Korea and meets ROK officials including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, National Assembly Vice Speaker Rep. Lee Ju-young, and ruling Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan. He attends ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of Tianjin-Incheon friendship.
: DPRK delegation led by Kim Hyong Ryong, vice minister of the People’s Armed Forces, and Song Il Hyok, deputy director general of the DPRK Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Disarmament and Peace, arrive in Beijing to attend the eighth Xiangshan Forum on Oct. 24-26.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Kong Xuanyou and Lee Do-hoon meet in Beijing.
: ROK Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and PRC counterpart Wei Fenghe meet in Singapore on the sidelines of fifth ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus meeting.
: Fishing industry association in Taizhou sends a message of gratitude to the ROK Coast Guard for the rescue of eight Chinese sailors in a fishing boat fire on Sept. 19.
: China and North Korea hold a friendly basketball game in Pyongyang attended by top DPRK officials including Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Choe Ryong Hae, Vice Chairmen of the WPK Central Committee Ri Su Yong, An Jong Su, and Choe Hwi, Foreign Ministry Ri Yong Ho, and Vice Premier Ro Tu Chol.
: CPC Central Committee and Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang send messages to the Worker’s Party of Korea celebrating the WPK’s 73rd founding anniversary.
: Chinese travel agency Ctrip.com announces plans to expand its services in South Korea including a 24-hour customer center in Seoul in October.
: PRC and DPRK Vice Foreign Ministers Kong Xuanyou and Choe Son Hui hold their first trilateral talks with Russian counterpart Igor Morgulov in Moscow.
: North Korea’s Culture and Sports Minister Kim Il Guk and visiting PRC counterpart Gou Zhongwen hold bilateral sports cooperation talks in Pyongyang.
: Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in separate meetings with Secretary Pompeo in Beijing reaffirm their joint goal of DPRK denuclearization.
: DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui visits Beijing for talks with Chinese officials, ahead of visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun to Pyongyang.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho visits Beijing on his return to Pyongyang after attending the UN General Assembly.
: Kim Jong Un releases a congratulatory message through Korean Central News Agency to President Xi on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of China’s founding.
: Chairman of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party Lee Hae-chan and PRC Ambassador to South Korea Qui Guohong meet in Seoul.
: ROK National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and PRC Ambassador to South Korea Qui Guohong meet in Seoul.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun hosts DPRK officials including Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman Choe Ryong Hae and Culture Minister Pak Chun Nam at the PRC Embassy’s National Day reception.
: ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha holds separate bilateral talks with PRC and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Kono Taro on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses support for Korean Peninsula peace talks after the Trump-Moon summit on Sept. 24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
: ROK Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and Ding Zhongli, vice chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, meet in Seoul on the sidelines of an annual China-ROK parliamentary meeting.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses support for inter-Korean talks; President Moon’s third summit with Kim Jong-un.
: South Korea’s Defense Ministry announces the military will continue monitoring China’s installation of buoys in overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Yellow Sea.
: North Korea resumes flights between Pyongyang and Dalian.
: ROK Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon visits Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum, attended by President Xi Jinping and other regional leaders.
: South Korea hosts “K-Food Fair” in Beijing to boost agricultural exports.
: South Korea’s Lawyers for a Democratic Society announces that all former DPRK restaurant workers who defected from China in April 2016 have been granted passports.
: Kim Jong Un and wife Ri Sol Ju host an art performance and banquet for Li Zhanshu in Pyongyang.
: North Korean restaurant Morangwan reopens in Shenyang after eight months of closure under UN sanctions.
: Li Zhanshu attends the DPRK National Day military parade, meets Kim Jong Un and delivers a congratulatory message from President Xi.
: ROK President Moon Jae-in’s top security advisor Chung Eui-yong briefs Yang Jiechi in Beijing on the outcome of Chung’s visit to North Korea.
: North Korea allows China’s Global Times to tour Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory.
: CPC Political Bureau Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu visits Pyongyang for North Korea’s 70th founding anniversary events.
: Air Koryo temporarily increases Beijing-Pyongyang flights to accommodate foreign travelers ahead of National Day commemorations.
: Seoul hosts the eighth Northeast Asia Forum on Air Quality Improvement attended by Chinese and other regional partners.
: ROK Air Force confronts Chinese military plane entering the KADIZ. ROK Ministry of National Defense summons the defense attaché at the PRC Embassy in Seoul.
: China’s National Tourism Administration allows travel agencies in Jiangsu province to resume group tours to South Korea.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese culture ministers meet in Harbin for annual trilateral talks on cultural exchange.
: Chinese police force cancellation of the Pan Korean Peace Forum in Dandong.
: North and South Korean representatives attend opening ceremony of the Pan-Korean Peace Forum in Shenyang hosted by ROK National Unification Advisory Council.
: ROK Oceans Ministry announces the October resumption of joint patrols with China of illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea.
: DPRK Deputy Prime Minister Ri Ryong Nam and Vice Foreign Minister Choe Hui Chol arrive in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials.
: US sanctions Chinese and Russian firms for violating international sanctions on North Korea.
: North and South Koreans participate in a tourism festival in the Chinese border city of Hunchun.
: China-based tourism agency suspends group tours to the DPRK.
: Tourism officials from China and North Korea meet in Guangdong.
: North Korean and Chinese carriers increase weekly flights between Pyongyang and Shenyang.
: Nuclear envoys from China and South Korea meet in Beijing.
: Wan Island municipality off the southern coast of South Korea announces plans to reconstruct a shrine honoring Chinese and South Korean war heroes.
: PRC and ROK foreign ministers hold talks on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Singapore.
: ROK Health Ministry announces plans to open a medical tourism center in Shanghai.
: Chinese warplane enters South Korean airspace.
: Finance ministers from China and South Korea meet on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires.
: PRC Commerce Ministry says it will launch anti-dumping probes into steel products from South Korea and other countries.
: Korea Trade Commission announces the extension of anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made ceramic tiles.
: ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha addresses a China-Japan-ROK diplomacy program in Seoul for university students.
: North Korea reports that an invitation was sent to Xi Jinping for the 70th anniversary of the DPRK’s founding on Sept. 9.
: China and South Korea hold working-level talks in Gyeongju on the demarcation of maritime boundaries.
: Ku Bon Tae, DPRK Vice Minister of External Economic Affairs, arrives in Beijing for talks on economic cooperation.
: Kim Jong Un visits islands near border with China and tours a cosmetics factory in Sinuiju special economic zone.
: Trade and commerce officials from South Korea and China meet in Beijing.
: Municipalities in China’s Chongming District and South Korea’s Jeju Island sign a friendship pact.
: Seoul praises the outcome of Kim and Xi’s summit in Beijing.
: South Korean court sentences a Chinese man to 1.5 years in prison for illegal fishing in South Korean waters.
: Kim Jong Un meets Xi Jinping in Beijing.
: Kim Jong Un wishes Xi Jinping a happy birthday.
: Kim Jong Un and President Trump meet in Singapore. China’s Foreign Ministry congratulates them.
: North Korean state media release photos confirming that Kim Jong Un flew to Singapore on a charted Chinese plane.
: South Korea, China, the United States, Japan, Russia, and Canada conduct joint maritime security drills off the southeastern ROK coast.
: South Korean media reports China’s censorship of internet searches unfavorable to Kim Jong Un.
: ROK Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Paik Un-gyu hosts investor meeting in China.
: Air China announces that it will resume flights between Beijing and Pyongyang.
: ROK Trade Ministry asks China to fairly investigate PRC-based Korean chipmakers’ behavior.
: China and South Korea agree to cooperate on addressing air congestion in the Incheon-Mongolia air corridor.
: South Korean maritime authorities seize and dismantle seven Chinese fishing boats.
: China’s National Energy Administration and the ROK trade ministry hold the first round of talks on energy cooperation.
: Information and communication technology ministers from China, South Korea, and Japan meet in Tokyo.
: Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in meet after President Trump threatens to cancel the US-DPRK summit.
: China’s Foreign Ministry reiterates support for ROK-DPRK and US-DPRK rapprochement.
: ROK’s Trade Commission imposes 8.6 percent anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel wire.
: North Korea demolishes Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
: Chinese and South Korean entertainers collaborate to form the boy band “T.E.N.”
: North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Hui Chol travels to Beijing.
: Korea Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sign a liquidity swap deal worth $200 million.
: ROK Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says it will pursue increased inbound tourism from China.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry applauds the DPRK’s promise to dismantle its largest nuclear test site in late May.
: DPRK delegation led by Pak Thae Song, Political Bureau member and vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee, visits China and meets senior officials, including Xi Jinping, and tours the port city of Ningbo.
: DPRK Foreign Ministry declares that it will publicly dismantle its northern nuclear test site between May 23-25 and invites foreign journalists to attend the ceremony.
: South Korea, China, and Japan resume trilateral talks. President Moon Jae-in and Premier Li Keqiang meet on the sidelines.
: China and the DPRK pledge to cooperate on aviation and tourism industries.
: Chongqing lifts a two-year ban on group tours to South Korea.
: PRC and ROK resume bilateral talks in Seoul on joint defense policy.
: Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un hold a summit in the northeast Chinese city of Dalian.
: Presidents Moon Jae-in and Xi Jinping talk by telephone.
: Chinese city of Wuhan lifts a two-year ban on group tours to South Korea.
: Kim Jong Un and PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in Pyongyang.
: Foreign ministers of China and the DPRK meet in Pyongyang.
: PRC announces plans to send Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to North Korea on May 2-3.
: Chinese military plane enters South Korea’s air defense identification zone without notice.
: Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un meet in Panmunjom and agree to an end to all hostilities on the Korean Peninsula.
: Xi praises inter-Korean declaration and efforts to relieve tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
: Kim sees off a train carrying the bodies of 32 Chinese killed in the bus accident.
: Xi expresses his wishes for a successful inter-Korean summit.
: Kim Jong Un visits the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang to express condolences for the 32 Chinese nationals killed in a bus accident.
: Xi Jinping relays China’s appreciation for Kim’s condolences regarding the deadly traffic accident of the previous day.
: Thirty-two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans die in a traffic accident in the DPRK.
: PRC applauds DPRK’s decision to indefinitely halt nuclear and missile tests and close its test sites.
: China and South Korea hold first economic cooperation committee meeting in over two years in Beijing.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry says the PRC supports a DPRK-ROK peace treaty.
: Chinese state media announces that Xi Jinping will visit North Korea after the US-DPRK summit due for May.
: Kim Jong Un expresses hope that cultural exchanges between China and the DPRK will solidify a peaceful environment in East Asia.
: China and South Korea announce plans to resume cooperative talks on fisheries.
: China releases 30 North Korean defectors detained since March.
: DPRK expresses hope to consolidate its relationship with China.
: Kim Jong Un meets Song Tao and a visiting Chinese art troupe in Pyongyang.
: South Korean Coast Guard seizes Chinese vessel fishing off its west coast.
: Kim Yo Jong meets Song Tao and a visiting Chinese art troupe in Pyongyang.
: Song Young-gil, head of South Korea’s Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, visits China and meets AIIB President Jin Liqun.
: DPRK media say CPC international department head Song Tao and a Chinese art troupe will visit North Korea to improve cultural exchange.
: ROK presidential office announces that China, South Korea, and Japan will hold a trilateral summit in May.
: China bans the export of 32 “dual-use” items to North Korea in accordance with UN sanctions on the DPRK.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announces plans to resume its annual joint economic committee session with China.
: Theaters in Beijing screen South Korean films for the first time since the THAAD dispute of 2016.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho expresses hope over conciliatory atmosphere between China and the Koreas.
: PRC and DPRK foreign ministers meet in Beijing.
: China submits a report of ongoing efforts to implement UN sanctions on the DPRK to the UN sanctions committee.
: PRC State Councilor Yang expresses Beijing’s support for upcoming inter-Korean summit.
: China promises to lift economic restrictions on South Korean businesses imposed during the THAAD row.
: PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi visits Seoul to meet National Security Advisor Eui-yong, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and President Moon.
: China hails the DPRK and ROK for fixing a date for their diplomatic summit.
: South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun welcomes China-DPRK rapprochement.
: DPRK media confirm Xi Jinping invited Kim Jong Un for talks in Beijing.
: South Korea’s presidential office confirms that China notified ROK officials in advance of Kim Jong Un’s visit to Beijing.
: PRC and DPRK media report that Kim during his four-day visit to Beijing reaffirmed Pyongyang’s commitment to denuclearization.
: ROK presidential office applauds positive outcome of Kim Jong Un’s Beijing visit.
: South Korea repatriates remains of 20 Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War.
: Kim Jong Un visits Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping.
: Wang Shouwen, China’s vice commerce minister, and Kim Young-sam, South Korea’s deputy minister of trade and investment, lead the first round of talks on FTA expansion.
: Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in congratulate Xi on his re-election as Chinese president.
: China, with Russia, pledges its full support for upcoming talks between North and South Korea and the US.
: Top security advisor Chung Eui-yong and intelligence chief Suh Hoon leave for China and Japan, respectively, as Moon’s special envoy to brief Xi Jinping and Abe Shinzo on February talks with Kim Jong Un.
: Moon’s envoy meets President Xi and State Councilor Yang in Beijing.
: President Trump publicly accepts a meeting invitation from Kim Jong Un. China’s Foreign Ministry praises his positive message.
: China’s Foreign Ministry announces plans to send State Councilor Yang Jiechi to Seoul for further talks on inter-Korean dialogue.
: ROK Foreign Ministry summons China’s ambassador to file a complaint against the unauthorized entry of a Chinese reconnaissance plane into South Korean airspace on Feb. 27.
: President Moon and PRC Vice Premier Liu Yandong meet in Seoul.
: At closing of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Moon Jae-in reiterates his call for China to keep the momentum of inter-Korean dialogue moving ahead.
: China’s Foreign Ministry applauds the visit to Pyongyang by South Korean envoys, expressing hope that the talks will lead to US-DPRK dialogue.
: Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong leads China’s delegation to the Olympics closing ceremony and visits Seoul National University.
: PRC Ambassador to Seoul Qiu Guohong and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon meet in Seoul.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses hope that inter-Korean advances during the Olympics will lead to US-DPRK dialogue.
: Fu Ying of the CPC’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Chief of South Korea’s Democratic Party Choo Mi-ae meet on the sidelines of the 54th Munich Security Conference.
: Moon Jae-in congratulates Chinese athletes participating in the Olympics and wishes Beijing a happy Lunar New Year.
: ROK and PRC officials meet in Seoul to discuss inter-Korean developments.
: PRC Vice Premier Liu Yandong announces plans to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics and hold meetings with ROK officials.
: PRC delegation head Han Zheng meets senior DPRK official Kim Yong Nam on the sidelines of the 2018 Olympic opening ceremony.
: PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi calls on the international community to support continued inter-Korean dialogue.
: President Moon meets Han Zheng, CPC Politburo Standing Committee member and head of China’s delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for continued inter-Korean interactions in anticipation of the Winter Olympics.
: Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, says he will meet Communist Party of China (CPC) Secretary Cai Qi to discuss cooperation between the two capitals.
: China and South Korea reach agreement to boost their bilateral aviation market to accommodate increased air traffic.
: ROK Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon meets He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, in Beijing.
: DPRK Ambassador to Beijing Ji Jae Ryong appears publicly in Beijing for the first time in over two months.
: ROK Trade Ministry agrees to hold future talks with China in hope of expanding industries under the free trade agreement (FTA).
: Samsung announces plans to sign a MOU with China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
: Chinese military aircraft crosses unannounced into ROK airspace before being escorted out by South Korean fighter jets.
: China, South Korea, and Japan agree to hold high-level talks “as soon as possible.”
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses hope that inter-Korean Olympics talks will progress into political dialogue.
: ROK Oceans Ministry promises crackdown on illegal Chinese fishing in the Yellow Sea.
: China reiterates hopes for improvement of US-DPRK ties in the wake of easing tensions on the Peninsula.
: PRC Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai in interview with USA Today calls for more diplomatic efforts on North Korea.
: South Korean steelmaker POSCO announces joint ventures with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.
: US imposes new sanctions on entities and individuals with ties to North Korea, including two Chinese enterprises.
: South Korea opens a new cultural center in Hong Kong.
: China states that UN Security Council sanctions on the DPRK should not affect humanitarian aid.
: South Korean Finance Ministry levies antidumping duties of 12.1 percent on coated paper from China in an effort to safeguard the domestic industry.
: China and South Korea announce plans to expand car ferry operations between the two countries.
: A PRC-ROK joint committee pledges cooperation to prevent and mitigate environmental degradation.
: PRC Foreign Ministry hails inter-Korean cooperation on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
: Presidents Xi and Trump in telephone talks praise their cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.
: Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi meets a delegation of ROK lawmakers in Beijing led by Park Byeong-seug.
: Foreign ministers from 20 countries meet in Vancouver to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program. China and Russia, excluded from the meeting, release a joint statement condemning the meeting as illegal and illegitimate.
: Moon Jae-In holds separate telephone talks on North Korea with President Trump and President.
: PRC Foreign Ministry welcomes inter-Korean cooperation as DPRK and ROK delegations hold high-level talks for the first time in over two years.
: China orders investigation into clashes between Chinese security guards and South Korean journalists.
: President Moon meets Premier Li Keqiang and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhang Dejiang in Beijing.
: ROK Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon meets People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
: President Moon visits Chongqing, former base of South Korea’s provisional government during Japanese colonial rule.
: Chinese security guards attack and injure two South Korean journalists at a Korea-China trade fair. The Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps issues a statement requesting a formal apology from Beijing.
: Bilateral meetings are held in Beijing between ROK Agriculture Minister Kim Yong-rok and PRC counterpart Han Changfu; and ROK Commerce Minister Paik Un-gyu and PRC counterpart Zhong Shan.
: Beijing and Pyeongchang agree to ensure the success of the 2018 Winter Olympics in February.
: President Moon visits Beijing for summit with Xi Jinping accompanied by a large business delegation.
: PRC Vice President Zhang Gaoli and President Moon address the China-ROK Business Forum.
: PRC FM Wang renews China’s call for a “suspension for suspension” agreement on North Korea.
: South Korea’s Commerce Ministry hosts meeting of Chinese entrepreneurs to encourage Chinese investment.
: Financial regulators from South Korea, China, and Japan meet in Incheon.
: South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party leader Choo Mi-ae visits Beijing for an international conference of political parties and meets Chinese officials including Xi Jinping.
: ROK National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying meet in Seoul.
: North Korea test-fires intercontinental ballistic missile. China’s Foreign Ministry denounces the test. President Xi reaffirms China’s goal of denuclearization in telephone talks with Trump.
: China partially lifts restrictions on group package tours to South Korea.
: South Korean authorities arrest three Chinese fishing boats for illegal fishing in Korean waters.
: South Korea’s Defense Ministry denies plans for talks with China on THAAD.
: ROK Foreign Ministry asks China to crack down on illegal fishing in Korean waters.
: Executive Vice President of the Party School He Yiting visits South Korea to discuss the outcome of China’s 19th Party Congress.
: Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visits China in preparation for the Xi-Moon summit, meeting counterpart Wang Yi and head of the National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee Fu Ying.
: Rodong Sinmun declares that North Korea will “never” step back from its nuclear development “unless the US hostile policy against us comes to an end.”
: China and South Korea reach agreement on annual fishing quotas in each other’s exclusive waters.
: President Xi’s special envoy Song Tao visits Pyongyang to brief DPRK counterparts on China’s 19th Party Congress.
: PRC Foreign Ministry renews call for “suspension for suspension” agreement on North Korea.
: ROK Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and PRC Ambassador Qiu Guohong meet in Seoul.
: ROK Prime Minister Lee Nak-yonn addresses annual forum on China-Korea relations in Seoul.
: PRC Premier Li Keqiang and President Moon attend ASEAN-related meetings in Manila and hold bilateral talks on Nov. 13.
: South Korea at WTO meeting raises concern over China’s cyber security regulations.
: Presidents Xi and Moon meet in Da Nang, Vietnam on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting.
: Health ministers from China, South Korea, and Japan meet in Jinan, China.
: Ten North Korean defectors are arrested in China.
: South Korea’s Lotte Group secures approval for construction of a commercial complex in China.
: Bipartisan group of six South Korean lawmakers visits China.
: PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi meets ROK delegation led by former Prime Minister Lee Soo-sung in Beijing.
: President Xi sends message to Kim Jong UN expressing hope for “sound and stable” bilateral ties.
: Chinese and ROK foreign ministries issue a joint statement agreeing to put bilateral ties back on “normal” track.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Kong Xuanyou and Lee Do-hoon meet in Seoul.
: South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party welcomes China-ROK agreement on THAAD, while the minor opposition Bareun Party denounces it.
: ROK and DPRK leaders send separate congratulatory messages to President Xi Jinping on his re-election as Communist Party of China (CPC) leader.
: PRC and ROK Defense Ministers Chang Wanquan and Song Young-moo meet on the sidelines of an ASEAN security forum in the Philippines.
: Statue of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun donated by a Chinese think tank is unveiled in Euijungbu, South Korea.
: Pyongyang sends congratulatory messages on the opening of China’s 19th Party Congress.
: Beijing and Seoul agree on the sidelines of international financial meetings in Washington to renew their currency swap deal.
: PRC Commerce Ministry announces restrictions on petroleum product exports to North Korea and textile imports from North Korea in line with UN sanctions.
: PLA Deputy Commander Lt. Gen You Haitao and ROK Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yong-woo meet on the sidelines of the 10th Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference in Seoul.
: Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agree to step up pressure on North Korea.
: Chinese citizens in Harbin protest North Korea’s Sept. 3 nuclear test.
: North Korea launches an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese central bank chiefs hold trilateral talks in Seoul.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2375 in response to North Korea’s Sept. 3 nuclear test.
: North Korea conducts its sixth nuclear test.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Kang Kyung-wha meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
: Former lawmaker Noh Young-min appointed as South Korea’s ambassador to China.
: Hyundai Motor Co. indicates that its four plants in China have resumed operations after a week-long suspension brought on by parts supply issues.
: North Korea test-fires an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.
: Ninth annual China-ROK-Japan cultural ministers’ talks held in Kyoto.
: Presidents Xi and Moon, and Foreign Ministers Wang and Kang, exchange separate congratulatory messages on the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
: PRC Ambassador Qiu Guohong and ROK Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam address a reception at the PRC Embassy in Seoul marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
: Wan Gang, PRC science and technology minister and vice chairman of China’s parliamentary advisory body, leads delegation to a South Korean Embassy event in Beijing marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
: The 19th China-ROK-Japan environment ministers’ meeting held in Suwon.
: Fifth China-ROK Public Diplomacy Forum is held on Jeju Island.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce announces that it will enforce the latest UN sanctions on North Korea, effective Aug. 15.
: Aug. 21, 2017: PRC Foreign Minister Wang holds separate meetings with ROK and DPRK counterparts Kang Kyung-wha and Ri Yong-ho on sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2371 in response to North Korea’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.
: Presidents Xi and Moon meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg.
: North Korea fires a ballistic missile into its eastern waters.
: China’s Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi calls for dialogue with North Korea.
: US Treasury Department announces that it has blacklisted Bank of Dandong, two Chinese individuals, and Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co. for their ties to North Korea.
: PRC and ROK representatives attend the 15th East Asia Forum in Changsha, Hunan.
: PRC Vice Culture Minister Xiang Zhaolun, ROK First Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Na Jong-min, and Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Masaki Ogushi hold 10th Trilateral Cultural Content Industry Forum in Tokyo.
: US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 classifies China among worst countries for human trafficking due to its complicity in DPRK forced labor.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for inter-Korean reconciliation after Seoul approves an aid group request to send humanitarian aid to the North.
: Human Rights Watch urges China not to repatriate five DPRK defectors detained by Chinese authorities in June.
: ROK Foreign Ministry extends condolences over deaths from a landslide in Mao County, Sichuan.
: President Moon in a Reuters interview discusses China’s North Korea policy.
: US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue meets and announce agreement not to do business with UN-blacklisted DPRK entities, and work together toward denuclearization.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sun-nam meets State Councilor Yang Jiechi in Beijing and holds a high-level strategic dialogue with PRC counterpart Zhang Yesui.
: China Geological Survey, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and Geological Survey of Japan hold the Trilateral GeoSummit in Jeju.
: South Korea hosts the AIIB’s second annual meeting of the board of governors in Jeju. President Moon delivers a congratulatory address.
: PRC and ROK Finance Ministers Xiao Jie and Kim Dong-yeon meet on the sidelines of the AIIB meeting in Jeju.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for inter-Korean reconciliation after President Moon proposes dialogue between the two Koreas.
: Korea International Trade Association indicates that China has blacklisted 24 South Korean manufacturers and exporters.
: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun and ROK Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon meet in Jeju. South Korea agrees to invest $8 million in the AIIB Project Preparation Special Fund.
: China’s Foreign Ministry welcomes former US basketball player Dennis Rodman’s visit to North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea launches several short-range projectiles toward the East Sea.
: Second China-ROK-Japan Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic is held in Tokyo.
: China Cultural Center in Seoul and Yonhap News Agency agree to promote cultural exchanges.
: North Chungcheong provincial government announces that Cheongju International Airport has resumed flights to China.
: PRC and ROK officials and experts attend the 2017 Shangri-La Dialogue.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2356 sanctioning North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for Seoul’s steps to approve inter-Korean civilian contact.
: Chinese and South Korean virtual reality (VR) companies hold an investment forum on the sidelines of the 2017 Busan VR Festival.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses concern over the delivery of four additional THAAD launchers to the ROK.
: Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin announces E-Mart’s withdrawal from China.
: North Korea fires a short-range missile toward the East Sea.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a joint press conference with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow calls for a peaceful resolution to the Korean nuclear issue.
: Dozens of South Koreans sue the PRC and ROK governments over the health costs associated with fine dust pollution.
: SK chief Chey Tae-won to meet government and business leaders and participate in the Korea Foundation-Fudan University-hosted Shanghai Forum.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for the Moon administration’s reported plans for inter-Korean reconciliation.
: UN Security Council condemns North Korea’s missile test.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi releases a press statement expressing hopes for improving China-Korea relations.
: North Korea test-fires a ballistic missile.
: President Moon’s special envoy Lee visits China and meets President Xi and State Councilor Yang on May 19 and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on May 18.
: Former ROK Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan is appointed special envoy to China.
: ROK and DPRK delegations attend China’s Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
: North Korea conducts a missile test.
: President Xi and State Councilor Yang Jiechi meet a ROK delegation led by Rep. Park Byeong-seug on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
: Rep. Park of ROK ruling Democratic Party and DPRK Minister of External economic relations Kim Yong-jae meet on sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
: Presidents Xi and Moon hold telephone talks
: ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se sends a message to PRC counterpart Wang Yi expressing condolences for the death of former Vice Prime Minister Qian Qichen.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minsiter Lim Sung-nam requests Chinese government assistance in managing a school bus accident in Weihai that left 10 South Korean children dead.
: President Xi Jinping congratulates Moon Jae-in on his election as ROK president.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese finance and central bank officials hold trilateral talks in Yokohama on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
: A Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) commentary criticizes China for criticizing the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program.
: China Southern Airlines resumes its Cheongju-Yanji flight services.
: North Korea tests a ballistic missile.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to THAAD after the arrival of key elements of the system at the Seongju site.
: Chinese man is sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering a South Korean woman in Jeju last year.
: Air China announces it will resume flights to Pyongyang beginning May 5.
: President Trump discusses North Korea in separate telephone talks with President Xi and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
: Human Rights Watch urges China not to repatriate eight DPRK defectors detained by Chinese authorities in March.
: South Korean historians and activists protest in Seoul in response to reports on Xi-Trump remarks that Korea “used to be part of China.”
: ROK Foreign Ministry indicates that it is working to confirm reports on Trump-Xi remarks that Korea “used to be part of China.”
: UNSC adopts statement condemning North Korea’s April 16 missile launch.
: ROK Transport Ministry issues plans to help local airlines deal with the decline in travel to and from China.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea’s failed missile test on April 16.
: Air China announces will temporarily suspend flights between Beijing and Pyongyang starting April 17.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for Korean Peninsula denuclearization talks.
: Presidents Xi and Trump in telephone talks discuss North Korea and other issues.
: Korea Tourism Organization President Jung Chang-soo announces strategies to help South Korea tourism industry recover from a decline in Chinese visitors.
: Radio Free Asia reports that China has closed South Korean cable TV channels.
: Media reports confirm that Beijing ordered trading firms to return North Korean coal imports.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula.
: Twelfth round of China-Japan-ROK FTA talks is held in Tokyo.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei meets ROK counterpart Kim Hong-kyun and major presidential contenders in Seoul
: ROK Foreign Ministry positively assesses the Xi-Trump summit in press release.
: President Donald Trump briefs Acting ROK President Hwang on his April 6-7 summit with President Xi Jinping.
: UN Security Council adopts statement condemning DPRK April 5 missile launch.
: Chinese salvage ship Dali returns to Shanghai after completing operations since August 2015 to recover South Korea’s sunken Sewol ferry.
: North Korea conducts a ballistic missile test. China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula.
: South Korean plaintiffs represented by Korea Green Foundation President Choi Yul and attorney Ahn Kyung-jae file law suit against governments of Seoul and Beijing over the health impacts of fine dust.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPK Li Jinjun leads Chinese Embassy delegation to ceremonies in Pyongyang commemorating Chinese People’s Volunteer Army members killed during the Korean War.
: Bipartisan group of 26 US senators in a joint letter urges President Trump to “call upon President Xi to reexamine his view of the THAAD deployment.”
: Asiana announces plans to reduce flights to and from China and increase flights to and from Japan and Southeast Asia in April-June in response to lower Chinese demand.
: South Korea’s MBC TV announces that distribution rights for its documentary series DMZ, the Wild have been sold to China’s biggest streaming platform iQiyi.
: ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy states that it raised concerns in the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade Committee meeting over China’s economic retaliation.
: ROK military states that it will resume operations against illegal Chinese fishing near the inter-Korean sea border in the West Sea.
: China’s Foreign Ministry confirms China offered assistance for the transit of the body of Kim Jong Nam from Kuala Lumpur via Beijing to Pyongyang.
: Korean National Assembly adopts resolution urging China to cease economic retaliation over THAAD.
: ROK Foreign Ministry states that China and Russia have adopted sanctions affecting North Korea’s aviation industry.
: ROK Foreign Ministry in a press briefing positively assesses Washington’s resolution urging China to cease retaliation against South Korea over THAAD.
: South Korean exporters at a conference held by the Korea International Trade Association call for Seoul and Beijing’s joint efforts to resolve economic frictions resulting from THAAD deployment.
: Seoul sends a formal request to the Chinese government to allow Lotte to resume business operations in China.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the ministry and other websites have come under cyberattacks originating from China.
: China’s Commerce Ministry announces it has launched an anti-dumping probe against ROK exports of a chemical product.
: South Korean civic group holds a memorial in Dalian marking the 107th anniversary of the execution of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun by Japan.
: ROK’s finance minister pledges actions against China’s THAAD retaliation.
: China beats South Korea 1-0 in Asian qualification round in Changsha for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
: US House of Representatives introduces a bipartisan resolution condemning China’s retaliation against South Korea in response to THAAD deployment.
: Chinese delegation led by former Vice Foreign Minister and PRC Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Yingfan visits Seoul and meets ROK Vice Minister Lim Sung-nam.
: Korea Football Association announces China will mobilize 10,000 police officers for the World Cup qualifier match between China and South Korea in Hunan.
: ROK Ministry of Education announces cancellations of field trips to China by South Korean schools.
: South Korea repatriates remains of Chinese soldiers killed during Korean War.
: Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) calls for secondary sanctions on Chinese firms doing business with North Korea.
: ROK Embassy in Beijing issues a safety advisory ahead of a FIFA World Cup qualifying match between China and South Korea on March 23 in Hunan.
: ROK Finance Ministry announces that China has rejected talks between finance ministers at the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting.
: Seoul appeals to WTO over China’s measures on South Korean tourism and retail businesses.
: China’s Foreign Ministry defends China’s opposition to THAAD.
: US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun travels to Beijing and Seoul and meets counterparts Wu Dawei and Kim Hong-kyun.
: South Korea’s Culture Ministry in collaboration with entertainment agencies establishes a damage report center on China’s restrictions on Korean cultural content in China.
: China’s travel ban to South Korea goes into effect.
: Activist group “Justice for North Korea” reports that Chinese authorities have arrested two South Korean pastors for protecting DPRK defectors in China.
: South Korean air carriers announce plans to reduce China-bound flights to deal with declining demand.
: Korea Football Association announces that it has requested safety precautions be taken by the Asian Football Confederation and the Chinese Football Association for the March 23 World Cup qualifying match in Changsha, Hunan.
: Seoul Constitutional Court upholds Dec. 9 National Assembly impeachment of Park Geun-hye, ending Park’s presidency.
: Park Sam-koo, chairman of Kumho Asiana Group, is re-elected head of Korea-China Friendship Association.
: Korea Development Bank-led creditors of Kumho Tire Co. announces an agreement to sell Kumho Tire to Chinese tire maker Qingdao Doublestar Co.
: South Korea’s ruling Liberal Korea Party expresses concerns over China’s THAAD retaliation.
: Lotte Group indicates that more than half its China-based hypermarket chains have been forced to temporarily suspend operations.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi at China’s annual parliamentary session in Beijing renews China’s positions on the Korean peninsula.
: ROK Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn reiterates Seoul’s plans to deploy THAAD.
: ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announces an emergency relief fund to SMEs exposed to financial risks from Chinese trade restrictions.
: PRC Foreign Ministry threatens further retaliatory actions against ROK for THAAD deployment.
: Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (ZTE) agrees to pay $1.2 billion in fines for illegal exports to Iran and North Korea.
: North Korea fires four ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: Lotte Group holds meeting to discuss countermeasures against China’s THAAD retaliation.
: ROK Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se separately warn against possible Chinese violations of WTO and China-ROK FTA agreements.
: China suspends Lotte Mart operations in Dandong. Chinese hold protests against THAAD in front of Lotte Department Store in Shenyang.
: PRC and ROK envoys Wu Dawei and Kim Hong-kyun talk by telephone.
: ROK Acting President Hwang states that South Korea will push forward with THAAD deployment plans.
: ROK Foreign Ministry expresses concern over China’s travel restrictions to South Korea.
: South Korea’s political parties criticize China’s economic retaliation against THAAD.
: ROK Embassy in China’s new task force on countering China’s THAAD retaliation holds its first meeting.
: China National Tourism Administration announces a travel ban to South Korea for China-based travel agencies.
: Six DPRK soldiers illegally cross the border into China.
: Incheon Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries announces that China and South Korea will conduct annual joint inspections of international ferries operating between China’s eastern port cities and Incheon.
: DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song leads a delegation to China and meets PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
: PRC Commerce Ministry announces that it will suspend imports of North Korean coal, for the remainder of the year.
: South Korean lower court sentences Chinese man to 25 years in prison for murdering a South Korean woman in Jeju.
: South Korea agrees to return on March 22 remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: UN Security Council condemns North Korea’s missile test.
: Kim Jong Nam is killed at Kuala Lumpur airport.
: North Korea conducts a ballistic missile test. PRC Foreign Ministry expresses China’s opposition.
: Third round of China-Japan-Korea Cyber Policy Consultation is held in Tokyo.
: Lotte Group confirms that it closed down its store on China’s leading online shopping outlet Tmall on Jan. 12.
: ROK Unification Ministry states that it has asked China to prohibit Chinese buyers from purchasing goods produced at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
: Officials from North and South Korea’s committees for the joint implementation of the June 15 summit declaration meet in Shenyang.
: DPRK officials attend Lunar New Year reception at Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang.
: China, Japan, and South Korea hold 10th round of talks between Central and South American affairs director generals, including bilateral talks on the sidelines.
: ROK Ministry of Strategy and Finance announces plan to establish subcommittees for industrial sectors under Seoul’s task force on Chinese nontariff trade barriers.
: Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn orders ROK Coast Guard officials to respond firmly to illegal Chinese fishing.
: ROK Coast Guard seizes two Chinese fishing boats for entering South Korean waters.
: ROK Safety Minister Park In-yong in a New Year policy briefing to Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn urges China to crack down on illegal fishing in ROK waters.
: Eleventh round of China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks is held in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s Jan. 8 threats on launching an inter-continental ballistic missile.
: About 10 PRC military planes enter Korean air defense identification zone (KADIZ), prompting ROK Air Force to send warning messages and fighter jets to intercept.
: ROK Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announces plans to develop customized tour programs for Chinese.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry summons PRC Ambassador to Seoul Qiu Guohong to protest China’s economic retaliation against THAAD.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry expresses China’s opposition to THAAD.
: ROK delegation of the main opposition Democratic Party (Minjoo Party) visits Beijing and meets Foreign Minister Wang Yi, other CPC officials, and members of the National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee.
: Beijing rejects approval requests by Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Jeju Air to run chartered flights between China and Korea in January.
: China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Air withdraw their requests for ROK government approval of plans to run chartered flights to South Korea.
: The 16th round of China-ROK fisheries talks is held in Beijing.
: China and South Korea hold director general-level talks in Busan on EEZs in the Yellow Sea.
: China National Tourism Administration Chairman Li Jinzao and ROK Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoon-sun preside over the closing ceremony of “Visit Korea Year 2016” in Beijing.
: Tokyo announces the postponement of the China-Japan-Korea summit to 2017.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announces a temporary suspension of coal imports from North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses hopes for political stability in South Korea after the parliamentary impeachment of Park Geun-hye.
: PRC permanent representative to the UN Liu Jieyi at a Security Council meeting expresses China’s opposition to discussing DPRK human rights.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Kim Hong-kyun meet in Beijing.
: Beijing calls for full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution against North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, adopted Nov. 30.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2321 in response to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.
: China begins tax probe and health and safety inspection of Lotte Group in China.
: PRC Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Hongshan and ROK Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Cho Hyun-dong meet in Yangzhou on the sidelines of the fourth China-ROK public diplomacy forum.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to South Korea’s intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan.
: Chinese fishing boat sinks in waters off South Korea, leaving one missing.
: All eight crew members are rescued from a sinking Chinese fishing boat in waters off South Korea’s western coast.
: The 19th annual forum on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia is held in Seoul. National Institute of Environmental Research under the ROK Ministry of Environment announces China-Japan-ROK joint research agreement on air pollution.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to THAAD deployment after the ROK Defense Ministry’s reported agreement with Lotte Group to acquire the site for THAAD.
: ROK Coast Guard fires a machine gun to warn 30 Chinese fishing boats.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to the ROK Coast Guard’s use of force against illegally operating Chinese fishermen.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to THAAD deployment after USFK Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks indicates THAAD would be deployed in 8-10 months.
: ROK Coast Guard uses machine gun to warn Chinese fishing boats operating illegally near Incheon. China’s Foreign Ministry calls in ROK Ambassador Kim Jang-soo.
: PRC, Japanese, and ROK trade ministers hold annual trilateral talks in Tokyo.
: PRC Defense Ministry expresses concern over planned joint military exercises between South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and DPRK counterpart Park Myong-guk lead the third meeting of the Korea-China Border Joint Commission in Pyongyang.
: Hwaseong Mayor Chae In-seok and Shanghai Normal University President attend an unveiling ceremony of comfort women statues erected on the university campus.
: South Korean prosecutors indict captain of a Chinese fishing boat for obstruction of justice and professional negligence.
: PRC Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou meets Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hyong-zhin and Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam in Seoul.
: PRC Defense Ministry calls for restraint in response to US-ROK joint naval drills.
: 500 Chinese and South Korean business leaders attend a forum on the China-ROK FTA and other trade negotiations as part of the GTI expo in Sokcho.
: ROK Foreign Ministry again calls in China’s consul general in Seoul to protest the Oct. 7 sinking of a ROK Coast Guard boat.
: South Korean political parties criticize China’s reluctance to apologize for the sinking of a ROK Coast Guard boat.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint in dealing with illegally operating Chinese fishing boats.
: ROK, PRC, Russian, Mongolian, and Japanese representatives attend a meeting of the Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) Local Cooperation Committee and the opening of the GTI trade and investment fair in Sokcho.
: ROK Foreign Ministry calls in PRC Ambassador Qiu Guohong in Seoul to protest the Oct. 7 sinking of a ROK Coast Guard boat.
: ROK Coast Guard announces that it will use force against violent interference with law enforcement by Chinese boats and fishermen.
: South Korea’s Presidential office calls Oct. 7 sinking of a ROK Coast Guard boat “regrettable.” China’s Foreign Ministry calls for South Korean restraint in dealing with incident.
: ROK Foreign Ministry calls in China’s consul general in Seoul to protest the Oct. 7 sinking of a ROK Coast Guard boat.
: Illegally operating Chinese fishing boat rear-ends and sinks a ROK Coast Guard boat in the Yellow Sea.
: Officials confirm the participation of top envoys of China and North Korea in events marking China’s National Day in Beijing and Pyongyang.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to THAAD.
: Chinese fishing boat catches fire while operating illegally in South Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone, leaving three dead.
: US imposes sanctions on China’s Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Company for assisting North Korea’s weapons programs.
: Special Representative for Korean Peace and Security Affairs Kim Hong-kyun and PRC counterpart Wu Dawei meet in Beijing.
: PRC, Japanese, and ROK sports ministers hold an inaugural meeting on sports cooperation in Pyeongchang.
: Jeju police announce that it has requested cooperation from Hebei province to investigate a Chinese man suspected of killing a South Korean woman in Jeju on Sept. 17.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se holds separate telephone talks with PRC and Russian counterparts Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov about North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.
: DPRK ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam arrives in Beijing on his way to Venezuela for the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
: Eight Chinese tourists are arrested for assaulting a South Korean restaurant owner on Jeju Island on Sept. 10.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrives in Beijing on his way to Venezuela for the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
: ROK Embassy in China issues a travel advisory to South Koreans traveling near the China-DPRK border.
: ROK Special Representative for Korean Peace and Security Affairs Kim Hong-kyun and PRC counterpart Wu Dawei hold telephone talks.
: North Korea conducts a fifth nuclear test.
: China and South Korea join EAS member states in adopting a statement on nonproliferation urging North Korea to abandon its weapons programs.
: President Park and Premier Li Keqiang attend ASEAN Plus 3 in Vientiane.
: China’s Foreign Ministry reiterates China’s opposition to THAAD.
: Presidents Obama and Park meet on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Vientiane and stress China’s role in sanctioning North Korea.
: Wang Yang, member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, attends North Korea’s National Day reception at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing.
: President Xi Jinping and President Park Geun-hye meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou.
: North Korea test-fires three mid-range Rodong missiles into the East Sea.
: Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam visits China for talks with PRC counterpart Liu Zhenmin in preparation for the Xi-Park summit.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint over North Korea Aug. 24 ballistic missile launch.
: Foreign Ministers Wang Yi, Yun Byung-se, and Kishida Fumio hold the 8th China-ROK-Japan Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tokyo.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Laos.
: North Korea’s Air Koryo aircraft makes emergency landing at Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang due to smoke in the aircraft.
: PRC Defense and Foreign Ministries express opposition to the US-ROK agreement on THAAD deployment.
: Kim Jong Un sends a congratulatory message to PRC President Xi Jinping on the 95th anniversary of the CPC’s founding.
: ROK Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn visits China, where he meets President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, participates in the 10th Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin, and travels to Liaoning.
: ROK Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho attends the first AIIB General Assembly in Beijing and opening ceremony of the RMB-Won direct market.
: China’s Foreign Ministry urges North Korea to comply with UNSC resolutions.
: Director General of China’s National Development and Reform Commission’s Climate Change Department Su Wei and ROK Ambassador for Climate Change Choi Jai-chul lead the first meeting of their joint climate change committee in Pusan.
: Chinese naval squadron arrives in Busan from the Gulf of Aden for exchanges with the ROK Navy.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea test-fires two medium-range ballistic missiles.
: Newly-appointed ROK National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and PRC Ambassador Qiu hold talks in Seoul.
: ROK Ministry of Public Safety and Security announces that ROK Coast Guard has stationed its biggest patrol vessel off Jeju Island to address illegal fishing.
: Annual Track 1.5 Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue is held in Beijing.
: South Korean scholars at a conference hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation in Seoul challenge Chinese views of ancient history.
: Korean Central News Agency criticizes South Korea and the UN Command’s joint operations against illegal Chinese fishing in neutral waters between the two Koreas.
: Delegation of 177 young Chinese public officials led by Wang Yunzhe, vice chief of the China-ROK Friendship Association, visits South Korea for exchanges with municipal governments.
: China, South Korea, and Japan on the sidelines of the Shenzhen International UAV Expo reach a three-way cooperation agreement on drones.
: ROK Foreign Ministry announces that China and South Korea have agreed in principle on visa exemption for students on school field trips.
: ROK Coast Guard announces it will request warrants to formally arrest the captains and crew members of two Chinese fishing boats seized on June 14.
: ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hyoung-zhin calls in PRC Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong to seek cooperation on illegal Chinese fishing.
: China’s Foreign Ministry pledges full implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea.
: Heilongjiang and North Chungcheong provincial governors, Lu Hao and Lee Si-jong, meet in Harbin and agree to strengthen cooperation in economy and trade.
: South Korea’s military police capture two Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in neutral waters between the two Koreas.
: PRC Commerce Ministry announces a ban on dual use exports to North Korea.
: South Korea military police and the UN Command begin joint military operations against illegal Chinese fishing.
: 1,000 Chinese tourists participate in the “Seoul Dano” tour program jointly developed by the Seoul government and China Travel Service.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for resuming dialogue after the IAEA reports on North Korea’s restarting of its nuclear fuel plant in Yongbyon.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Kim Hong-kyun meet in Beijing.
: ROK officials announce that Seoul has issued a formal protest with Beijing on illegal Chinese fishing in South Korean waters.
: Rodong Sinmun threatens that North Korea will expand its nuclear development.
: Chinese fishing boats captured for illegally fishing in South Korea’s EEZ.
: Interim leader of South Korea’s main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Kim Chong-in, meets PRC Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong in Seoul.
: PRC Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and Russian counterpart Igor Morgulov express shared concerns over THAAD.
: South Korean fisherman capture two Chinese fishing boats illegally fishing near the inter-Korean sea border.
: PRC Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Adm. Sun Jiangguo and ROK Defense Minister Han Min-koo meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: PRC officials announce the cancelation of a trade fair between Chinese and South Korean SMEs in Dandong scheduled for June 9-13.
: Vice Chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea Central Committee Ri Su Yong visits China and meets President Xi Jinping and Minister of the CPC International Department Song Tao.
: DPRK official of the Red Cross Society Central Committee accuses Seoul for abducting North Korean restaurant workers from China.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses its opposition to “unilateral sanctions” against North Korea.
: ROK Unification Ministry confirms the arrival of three North Korean restaurant workers defecting from Shanxi Province.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea’s apparent failure to launch an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
: ROK Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho and PRC counterpart Xu Shaoshi meet in Seoul and agree to cooperate on infrastructure development in Northeast China.
: The 14th China-ROK Economic Ministers Meeting is held in Seoul.
: Xu Dazhe, director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, and Hong Nam-ki, ROK vice minister of science, ICT and future planning, lead the 13th China-ROK Nuclear Power Joint Committee meeting in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Institute for Unification Education announces the cancelation of training visits to the China-DPRK border region schedule for the end of May.
: Head of the CPC Propaganda Department Liu Qibao visits South Korea and meets Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Parliamentary Speaker Chung Ui-hwa.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for US-DPRK direct talks.
: Head of North Korea’s Parliament Kim Yong Nam arrives in Beijing on his way to Equatorial Guinea.
: Mayors of Weihai and Incheon Zhang Hui and Yoo Jeong-bok meet in Incheon and announce the designation of Incheon and Weihai as priority cities for cooperation on the China-ROK “Digital Silk Road.”
: North and South Korean representatives attend an international trade fair in Xian organized by China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Commerce Ministry.
: Second South Korean product fair is held in Xian, attended by ROK Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan.
: Shenyang-Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo 2016 is held in Shenyang, the first of a series of “Korean Wave” product fairs.
: President Xi Jinping sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un on his election as WPK chairman.
: Jiangsu Gov. Shi Taifeng and ROK Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan meet in Seoul and agree to establish a high-level dialogue mechanism on economic cooperation.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry denies media reports on US-China talks on peace treaty talks.
: The Communist Party of China (CPC) sends a congratulatory message to the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on its party congress.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses hopes on North Korea’s denuclearization.
: The 16th China-ROK-Japan Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting is held on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank annual meeting in Frankfurt.
: PRC Foreign Ministry denies information on an ethnic Korean pastor and supporter of DPRK defectors found dead in Changbai County, Yanbian, on April 30.
: North Korea launches two intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missiles.
: ROK Arctic Affairs Ambassador Kim Chan-woo and PRC and Japanese counterparts Ma Xinmin and Kazuko Shiraishi meet in Seoul to discuss Arctic cooperation.
: Former ROK Prime Minister Goh Kun and Chairman of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party General Council meet PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi in Beijing.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se attends Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Beijing; he meets PRC counterpart Wang Yi separately.
: PRC and ROK Environment Ministers Chen Jining and Yoon Seong-kyu meet in Shizuoka and hold trilateral talks with Japanese counterpart Tamayo Marukawa.
: PRC Foreign Ministry urges North Korea to comply with UNSC resolutions two days after Pyongyang claims it successfully launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.
: South Korean media report that Pyongyang ordered Chinese companies to pay advance cash to DPRK workers to raise funds for the WPK Congress in May.
: ROK Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Hong-kyun and PRC counterpart Wu Dawei hold talks in Beijing.
: China-ROK maritime demarcation talks held in Beijing, led by ROK Foreign Ministry’s Director General of International Legal Affairs Park Chull-joo and PRC counterpart Wang Xiaodu.
: ROK Ministry of Justice announces that it will accelerate visa processing for a group of 8,000 Chinese tourists scheduled to visit in May.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and PRC Vice Commerce Minister Gao Yan hold trade talks in Seoul.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong arrives in Beijing on his way for UN meetings in New York.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint in response to Pyongyang’s apparent plans for a nuclear test.
: PRC state media reports on Harbin’s planned expansion of the Ahn Jung-geun memorial hall by the end of 2018.
: UNSC condemns North Korea’s failed ballistic missile launch on April 15.
: ROK Ambassador to Beijing Kim Jang-soo visits Chinese border cities Dandong and Hunchun to inspect the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se cautions against mass defections of DPRK workers from China.
: ROK FM Yun Byung-se and Heilongjiang Chinese Communist Party Secretary Wang Xiankui meet in Seoul.
: People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and ROK Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho meet on the sidelines of the Inter-American Development Bank annual meeting in the Bahamas and agree to extend the RMB-Won currency swap deal.
: Seoul hails China’s announcement of North Korean import restrictions.
: Thirteen North Korean workers from a Pyongyang-run restaurant arrive in Seoul.
: South Korean rice imports are sold in Beijing for the first time.
: China’s Commerce Ministry announces a list of restrictions on North Korean imports as part of steps to enforce UNSC sanctions against North Korea.
: South Korean media reports that ROK authorities ordered 52 travel agencies in northeast China to halt visa application services for Chinese planning to visit South Korea.
: South Korea’s Federation of SMEs chief Park Seong-taek proposes an alternative inter-Korean industrial complex on the China-DPRK border.
: South Korea repatriates the remains of 36 Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War.
: Presidents Xi and Park meet on the sidelines of the NSS in Washington.
: PRC Foreign Ministry dismisses US offer of talks on technical issues related to THAAD.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restarting denuclearization talks with North Korea.
: Group of 6,000 Chinese employees of Aolan International Beauty Group arrive in Incheon for a week-long tour of Incheon and Seoul.
: ROK Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho delivers a keynote speech at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry refutes Japanese media reports of an entry ban on all North Korean vessels.
: China’s Foreign Ministry dismisses US calls for “technical” talks on THAAD.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry says that a recent lifting of sanctions on four DPRK vessels is in line with UN regulations.
: China’s Foreign Ministry after North Korea’s launch of five short-range projectiles urges North Korea not to violate UN resolutions.
: PRC and ROK envoys Wu Dawei and Kim Hong-kyun meet in Beijing.
: Two South Korean ships are impounded in Ningbo after reportedly colliding with a Chinese fishing boat, leaving nine people missing.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to unilateral sanctions.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for “an objective and fair” attitude toward North Korea’s human rights record.
: ROK Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan visits China and meets Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and AIIB President Jin Liqun.
: PRC and ROK FMs Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se hold telephone talks and agree to fully implement new UN sanctions on North Korea.
: China’s Foreign Ministry urges North Korea to comply with UN resolutions in response to North Korean threats of a nuclear warhead test.
: FM Wang pledges plans for peace treaty and denuclearization talks with North Korea after meeting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
: ROK media reports that Chinese authorities have notified Beijing Capital International Airport of a list of North Korean individuals blacklisted by new UN sanctions.
: Hong Kong imposes a ban on a DPRK freighter under UN sanctions.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea fires two short-range missiles into the East Sea.
: DPRK blacklisted ship is reportedly denied entry into China.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses opposition to Seoul’s unilateral sanctions against North Korea.
: ROK Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo pledges to strengthen communication with China on the DPRK nuclear issue.
: FM Wang Yi reiterates calls for Korean peace treaty and denuclearization talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses concern over Korean Peninsula security in response to US-ROK military exercises from Feb. 29.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses support for the implementation of UNSC sanctions resolution on North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea launches projectiles.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2270. North Korea fires short-range projectiles into the East Sea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry denies South Korean media reports of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s freezing of North Korean bank accounts in Dandong.
: ROK Foreign Ministry and US State Department reject Chinese proposals for parallel peace and denuclearization talks with North Korea.
: North Korea launches a long-range rocket.
: DPRK diplomat in Dandong kills three Chinese in a drunk-driving accident.
: President Xi holds telephone talks on North Korea with Presidents Park.
: PRC FM Wang Yi says Special Envoy Wu Dawei warned North Korea on escalating tensions with a planned rocket launch.
: ROK Finance Ministry appoints Hong Ky-ttack as AIIB vice president.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses concern over North Korea’s planned long-range rocket launch in February after Pyongyang on Feb. 2 notifies the UN on such plans.
: China’s Special Envoy Wu Dawei visits North Korea and meets Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, and counterpart Ri Yong Ho.
: Seoul metropolitan government announces promotional plans for visiting Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday.
: Chinese state-run paper reports that China has reorganized its regionalized military commands including a Shenyang-based command in charge of the Korean Peninsula.
: President Xi Jinping sends birthday greetings to President Park Geun-hye.
: Daejeon metropolitan city announces that 300 Chinese tourists will visit the city for medical tests and sightseeing.
: Yonhap begins releasing Korean translations of People’s Daily news articles.
: Two PRC military planes enter China and South Korea’s overlapping air defense identification zone near Jeju Island and leave after a warning message from South Korea.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry cautions South Korea over the THAAD issue.
: South Korea’s Farm Ministry announces South Korea’s plans to export rice to China for the first time.
: Choi Son Hui, deputy director-general of the DPRK Foreign Ministry’s American affairs bureau, arrives in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announces that South Korea has agreed to repatriate remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: ROK presidential spokesman calls for a constructive role from China and Russia in dealing with North Korea.
: ROK Coast Guard announces the deadly capsizing of a Chinese fishing boat in waters off South Korea’s southwestern coast.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for joint efforts toward restarting Six-Party Talks.
: President Park proposes five-party talks on DPRK denuclearization.
: US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman warns China on selling nuclear and missile technology to North Korea.
: ROK Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok hosts a ceremony in Beijing marking “Visit Korea Year.”
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for a “comprehensive” approach to North Korea’s Jan. 6 nuclear test.
: ROK Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho participates in AIIB inauguration ceremony and board of directors meeting in Beijing and meets PRC counterpart Lou Jiwei and AIIB President Jin Liqun.
: PRC and ROK defense ministries hold annual working-level talks in Seoul, led by Foreign Affairs Director Rear Adm. Guan Youfei and Director General for International Policy Yoon Soon-ku.
: ROK nuclear envoy Hwang Joon-kook meets PRC counterpart Wu Dawei and Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong in Beijing.
: North Korea conducts its fourth nuclear test.
: Chinese media organizations select President Park Geun-hye among the top ten people of 2015.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls on Japan to “deal with related issues in a responsible way” after a ROK-Japan history agreement on comfort women.
: ROK Supreme Court calls on the government to disclose reports on China-ROK FTA negotiations.
: PRC and ROK vice foreign ministers begin the first round of talks on EEZs.
: China Beijing Environment Exchange and Korea Exchange sign a MoU on carbon trading.
: The China-ROK FTA comes into force.
: DPRK Vice Sports Minister Son Kwang-ho visits Beijing and signs an agreement with Deputy Secretary of the PRC General Administration of Sports Yang Shuan on sports exchanges in 2016.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese culture ministers hold talks in Qingdao.
: UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations.
: PRC and ROK Coast Guard heads Meng Hongwei and Hong Ik-tae meet in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry praises Kim Jong Il on the fourth anniversary of his death. North Koreans in Beijing pay respects at the DPRK Embassy.
: ROK Finance Ministry announces it has issued RMB-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds in China.
: North Korea’s band Moranbong returns to Pyongyang after canceling performance in Beijing.
: North Korea’s Moranbong Band and an Army orchestra arrive in Beijing for a “friendship tour” led by Choe Hwi, first vice-department director of the WPK propaganda division, who meets head of the CPC International Department Song Tao.
: China at a UN Security Council meeting in New York opposes including DPRK human rights issues on the UN agenda.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s claims on nuclear development.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses concern over the ROK Navy firing of warning shots at a Chinese patrol boat.
: ROK Navy fires warning shots at a Chinese patrol boat in the Yellow Sea.
: Newly-appointed CPC International Department head Song Tao meets DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong in Beijing.
: People’s Daily and Yonhap News Agency sign a news exchange agreement.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese health ministers meet in Kyoto.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin leads a delegation to the ROK Embassy in Beijing to pay respects to former ROK President Kim Young-sam.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Hwang Joon-kook meet in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry extends condolences on the Nov. 22 death of former ROK President Kim Young-sam.
: South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research reports that China, South Korea, and Japan have agreed to strengthen efforts against yellow dust from China.
: South Korea’s National Assembly ratifies the China-ROK FTA.
: Seoul hosts the third China-ROK forum on public diplomacy.
: South Korea launches a bipartisan consultative body on the China-ROK FTA.
: PRC and ROK navies hold joint anti-piracy drills in the Gulf of Aden.
: Rep. Suh Chung-won leads a bipartisan ROK parliamentary delegation to China and meets Liu Yunshan and Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.
: Premier Li Keqiang visits Seoul to attend the sixth China-ROK-Japan summit and separately meets President Park, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, and National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa.
: PRC and ROK Trade Ministers Gao Hucheng and Yoon Sang-jick meet in Seoul.
: Chinese state media reports CPC’s approval of a planned transborder tourism zone on Jilin’s border with North Korea and Russia.
: PRC Civil Affairs Minister Li Liguo meets DPRK Health Minister and Chairman of the North Korea-China Friendship Association Kang Ha-guk in Pyongyang, and pays respects to Chinese and DPRK soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: Liaoning province opens Guomenwan trade zone in Dandong with North Korea.
: China, South Korea, and Japan hold cyber security talks in Seoul.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announces plans to expand ROK fishery exports to China in light of the China-ROK FTA.
: China-DPRK trade fair is held in Dandong.
: Liu Yunshan, member of the CPC Political Bureau Standing Committee, visits North Korea on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the WPK’s founding.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese finance ministers hold talks on the sidelines of multilateral meetings in Peru.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun meets DPRK Health Minister and Chairman of the North Korea-China Friendship Association Kang Ha-guk on the occasion of China’s National Day.
: Rear Adm. Yu Manjiang, commander of China’s naval unit in the Gulf of Aden, visits ROK destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin and agrees to hold a joint anti-piracy drill.
: Eighth round of China-ROK-Japan trade talks are held in Beijing.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun attends 11th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair.
: Shooting incident occurs in Changbai near the China-DPRK border.
: ROK deputy nuclear envoy attends a forum in Beijing hosted by the Chinese Institute of International Studies.
: China-ROK-Japan Trilateral Policy Dialogue on African Affairs held in Beijing.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese deputy agriculture ministers meet in Tokyo.
: ROK and DPRK tourism representatives attend an international travel fair in Dandong hosted by Liaoning province.
: PRC officials attend the regional Seoul Defense Dialogue hosted by the ROK Defense Ministry.
: PRC, ROK, and DPRK companies attend the 10th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun.
: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President-designate Jin Liqun visits Seoul to meet ROK officials and businessmen.
: Kim Jong Un, Kim Yong Nam, and Pak Pong Ju receive a message from Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, and Zhang Dejiang on the occasion of the DPRK’s 67th anniversary.
: PRC and ROK deputy envoys to the Six-Party Talks Xiao Qian and Kim Gunn meet in Seoul.
: PRC and ROK finance ministers meet on the sidelines of the G20 in Turkey.
: Blue House announces a telemedicine project between Seoul’s St. Mary’s Hospital and Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai.
: China and South Korea sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Beijing on non-tariff barriers.
: President Park Geun-hye visits China and meets President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, attends 70th anniversary commemorations of the end of WWII, and addresses the China-ROK business cooperation forum in Shanghai.
: Choe Ryong-hae, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Worker’s Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, visits Beijing to attend WWII commemorations.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Hwang Joon-kook and Wu Dawei meet in Beijing.
: China’s Defense Ministry denies rumors of the PLA’s troop reinforcement on the China-DPRK border in response to inter-Korean tensions.
: ROK stealth destroyer Gang Gam Chan arrives in Shanghai as part of Navy training missions.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun in North Korea’s Korea Today praises the Chinese and Korean fight against Japan’s WWII aggression.
: China’s Foreign Ministry confirms that Workers’ Party of Korea secretary Choe Ryong Hae will attend China’s 70th anniversary WWII commemorations.
: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses support for inter-Korean talks.
: Former ROK Prime Minister Lee Soo-sung and Chairman of the 21st Century ROK-China Exchange Association Kim Han-kyu meet PRC Vice President Li Yuanchao and attend the 15th China-ROK Elite Forum in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after an exchange of artillery fire between the two Koreas.
: Blue House confirms President Park Geun-hye’s visit to China on Sept. 3-5 to participate in 70th anniversary WWII commemorations.
: Saenuri Party lawmaker Won Yoo-chun leads a delegation to China and meets Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.
: Chinese companies participate in fifth Rason International Trade Exhibition.
: Korea Foundation chief leads a 100-member delegation of South Korean young leaders to Beijing and Qingdao.
: Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and outgoing Secretary General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Shigeo Iwatani vow to advance China-ROK-Japan cooperation.
: Shanghai Salvage sends recovery team to Jindo Island for Sewol ferry salvage operations.
: Chinese authorities acquit 12 of 14 South Koreans detained since December 2014 on drug trafficking charges.
: PRC, ROK, and DPRK foreign ministers attend ASEAN-led meetings in Kuala Lumpur. PRC and ROK Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se hold talks on the sidelines.
: China opens a land-to-ocean route linking Heilongjiang Province with South Korea via a Russian port in Primorsky Krai.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries signs a deal with a Chinese consortium led by state-run Shanghai Salvage for the recovery of Sewol ferry.
: Chinese IT company iSoftStone signs an agreement with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in Beijing to invest $8.58 million in South Korean startups.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong at a Korea University forum calls for historical reconciliation between China, South Korea, and Japan.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun visits a cemetery of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War in Kaesong.
: Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency holds an investor fair in Shenyang to promote South Korean food.
: Kim Jong Un sends a wreath to the cemetery of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
: Kim Jong Un in a speech at the fourth National Conference of War Veterans pays tribute to the Chinese People’s Volunteers.
: A sea route for postal services between Weihai and Incheon is reopened seven years after it was shut down due to limited demand.
: ROK nuclear envoy Hwang Joon-kook meets PRC counterpart Wu Dawei and other officials in China.
: A ROK Navy lieutenant commander is indicted for leaking military secrets to an unidentified Chinese national.
: PRC Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun meet in Beijing.
: Vice Speaker of the ROK National Assembly Jeong Kab-yoon meets top PRC legislator Zhang Dejiang in Beijing.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao and ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun meet in Zhuhai.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson denies information on Kim Jong Un’s reported invitation to China’s Sept. 3 military parade marking the end of World War II.
: ROK Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan attends the signing of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) charter in Beijing.
: South Korean man diagnosed with MERS in China is released from the hospital.
: Busan International Film Festival and China’s biggest online video service Youku begin a 2015-2017 project to promote emerging Asian directors.
: North Korea launches a charter flight service to Yanji.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at a parliamentary session in Seoul pledges to strengthen ties with both China and the United States.
: China’s Foreign Ministry indicates China’s willingness to provide food aid to North Korea after the KCNA reports North Korea’s worst drought in 100 years.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong arrives in Beijing en route to Africa.
: PRC Ambassador to Hungary Xiao Qian is appointed as new deputy envoy to the Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for the easing of tensions a day after North Korea test-fires three short-range missiles into the East Sea.
: China reports that Kim Jong Un sent his condolences following the June 1 Yangtze cruise ship sinking that killed more than 430 people.
: China’s Civil Aviation Administration orders measures against the outbreak of MERS in South Korea.
: Suspected North Korean defector is shot dead by Chinese border guards.
: PLA Navy Commander Adm. Wu Shengli and ROK Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Chung Ho-seop meet in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Financial Services Commission approves China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co.’s acquisition of a 63 percent stake in Tonyang Life Insurance.
: Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, meets President Park Geun-hye, National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa, and ruling Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung in South Korea.
: Hong Kong and Macau announce they will issue their second-highest travel warnings to travelers to South Korea in wake of the MERS outbreak.
: Chinese fisherman sentenced to one year in prison for illegal fishing in South Korean waters.
: PRC Embassy in Pyongyang pledges agricultural cooperation with North Korea.
: South Korea’s government bills on the ratification of FTAs with China, Vietnam, and New Zealand are submitted to the National Assembly.
: US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert at a forum hosted by the Parliamentarians Society of the ROK calls for Chinese cooperation on DPRK denuclearization.
: Chinese authorities announce that China and Hong Kong have quarantined 88 people including 14 South Koreans who had contact with a Korean MERS patient in China.
: PRC Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and ROK counterpart Yoon Sang-jick sign the China-ROK FTA in Seoul. Presidents Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye exchange congratulatory messages.
: Adm. Sun Jianguo, vice chief of staff of China’s PLA, and ROK Defense Minister Han Min-koo meet on the sidelines of the 14th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: A 44-year old South Korean man who traveled to Guangdong via Hong Kong is confirmed to be infected with MERS.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Hwang Joon-kook meet in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announces that it has recommended punitive tariffs on Chinese steel beam imports.
: Rep. Na Kyung-won, chair of ROK National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, meets PRC counterpart Fu Ying and PRC Foreign Ministry officials in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Cabinet approves the China-ROK FTA.
: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry calls for effective Chinese measures against illegal fishing near the inter-Korean sea border.
: China’s Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after the DPRK National Defense Commission’s claims on advances in nuclear weapons technology.
: Officials and representatives from 61 Chinese firms attend a business meeting with South Korean firms in Seoul.
: South Korea’s Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and China’s Sichuan Province Gov. Wei Hong sign an MOU on economic and trade cooperation.
: ROK Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and Alibaba Group head Jack Ma attend a launching ceremony for Alibaba’s shopping platform in South Korea.
: ROK Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo meets Hebei Province party chief Zhou Benshun on the sidelines of an investment fair in China.
: China-Japan-ROK consultation on counter-terrorism is held in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson denies having any information on the execution of DPRK Defense Minister Hyong Yong Chol.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announces plans to modernize Pyeongtaek port to accommodate Chinese tourism.
: Seventh round of China-Japan-ROK FTA talks are held in South Korea.
: PRC Defense Minister Chang Wanquan and ROK Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yo-hwan meet in Beijing.
: ROK Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo in an interview with Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV dismisses China’s concern over Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
: PRC Foreign Ministry calls for restraint after North Korea announces a successful submarine-launched ballistic missile test.
: PRC state media reports plans to launch train tours from Dandong to Pyongyang from May 26.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Hwang Joon-kook meet in Beijing.
: PRC Ambassador to DPRK Li Jinjun meets Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of North Korea’s Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun meets Vice Foreign Minister Ri Gil Song in Pyongyang.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese finance ministers and central bank heads meet on the sidelines of ASEAN+3 talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.
: Chinese state media confirms resumption of cross-border train tours to DPRK.
: PRC and ROK tax chiefs sign an advance pricing agreement.
: PRC and ROK Finance Ministers Lou Jiwei and Choi Kyung-hwan meet on the sidelines of G-20 financial ministerial talks in Washington.
: PRC Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong and ROK Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo meet at the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
: ROK Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo presents credentials to President Xi Jinping.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Vice Minister of Water Resources Jiao Yong, ROK Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Yoo Il-ho, and Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ohta Akihiro hold trilateral talks at the 7th World Water Forum in Gyeongju and agree to strengthen trilateral cooperation on water policy innovation.
: Hunchun city offers its first driving tour to North Korea since Pyongyang’s lifting of Ebola-related travel restrictions.
: PRC Ministry of Finance announces the approval of South Korea as AIIB founding member.
: PRC-ROK FTA talks are held in Seoul.
: The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency opens its “Korea Business Plaza” in Beijing.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong and Yoo Dao-jong, director general of the ROK Foreign Ministry’s International Organizations Bureau, hold talks in Beijing.
: China Geological Survey, Korean Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and Japan Geological Survey hold first meeting in Beijing and agree to conduct joint volcano research.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun pays tribute to Mao Zedong’s son who was killed in the Korean War.
: PRC spokesperson refutes media reports of China’s dismissal of North Korea’s intention to join the AIIB.
: President Park and PRC Vice President Li Yuanchao meet at Lee Kuan Yew’s funeral reception in Singapore.
: ROK Coast Guard rescues nine crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat fire.
: Kim Jang-soo, former national security advisor and former defense minister, is appointed new ROK Ambassador to China.
: Northeast Asian History Foundation and ROK Embassy in Beijing open a three-week photo exhibition of Dokdo islets at the Korea Culture Center in Beijing.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance issues South Korea’s decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
: DPRK trade delegation led by Pak Ung Sik, director of Korean International Exhibition Corporation, meets Lin Xuewei, head of Dandong’s trade promotion agency, and representatives of Chinese firms in Dandong.
: Seventh China-ROK-Japan foreign ministers meeting is held in Seoul. PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi also meets President Park Geun-hye.
: China appoints Li Jinjun, deputy head of the CPC International Department, as new Ambassador to the DPRK.
: China’s Foreign Ministry announces that a PRC-ROK consular accord on the legal protection for people-people exchanges will go into force in April.
: PRC Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao visits Seoul and meets Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo and other officials.
: Chinese tour operators indicate that Chinese tours to North Korea are resuming operations after Pyongyang ends its Ebola-related ban on foreign travel.
: DPRK diplomat in Beijing in a Global Times interview criticizes U.S. and South Korean approaches to human rights.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula a day after North Korea fires seven missiles into the East Sea.
: ROK Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan at a seminar on Renminbi internationalization discusses South Korean goals to become a Renminbi hub.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese environmental officials hold working-level talks in Seoul.
: Tenth China-ROK-Japan consultation between senior foreign affairs officials is held in Seoul.
: Korea International Trade Association establishes a new China Desk in Seoul.
: Dandong city government at China’s annual parliamentary session promotes its role in expanding PRC-ROK trade.
: UN report indicates that China has reported a Chinese firm’s supply of equipment to a DPRK ski resort that does not constitute a violation of UN sanctions.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi at China’s annual parliamentary session press conference expresses China’s support for the China-DPRK relationship.
: PRC Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng at China’s annual parliamentary session press conference states that China will accelerate PRC-ROK-Japan FTA talks.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s regret over the March 5 attack on US Ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert by a South Korean activist.
: China-ROK FTA talks end in Beijing.
: Gov. Jiang Chaoliang announces Jilin’s plans to create the Tumen River Delta tourism zone with Russia and North Korea.
: Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry after consultations in Seoul announces that South Korea has agreed to return more remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: PRC State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan visits Seoul and meets President Park Geun-hye and ROK counterpart Han Min-koo in Seoul.
: ROK Deputy Minister of Trade and Investment Kwon Pyung-oh leads an investor relations fair in Beijing.
: A fishing boat collision off Jeju Island leaves 10 Chinese fishermen missing.
: PRC Vice Premier Wang Yang visits South Korea to meet President Park and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyong-hwan, and attends launch ceremony for the Year of Chinese Tourism.
: DPRK nuclear envoy Ri Yong Ho arrives in Beijing after two-day unofficial talks in Singapore with former US diplomats.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson states that China welcomes US-DPRK talks in Singapore on Jan. 19.
: China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture begins civilian patrols along the border with North Korea after the Dec. 28 killing of four Chinese by a DPRK army deserter.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for peace on the Korean Peninsula after the US rejects Pyongyang’s proposal to temporarily suspend nuclear tests in exchange for a suspension of US-ROK military drills.
: China’s People’s Liberation Army begins eight-day regular military drills in northern parts of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Strait near the Korean peninsula.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirms that Beijing sent a congratulatory birthday message to Kim Jong Un.
: China’s Foreign Ministry indicates that Pyongyang has expressed regret over the Dec. 28 killings of four Chinese by a DPRK army deserter.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for inter-Korean reconciliation after Kim Jong Un proposes talks with Seoul in his New Year message.
: PRC and ROK foreign and defense ministries hold working-level talks in Seoul.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for caution on the Korean Peninsula in response to new US sanctions on North Korea for an alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says Beijing lodged a complaint with Pyongyang over the Dec. 28 killing of four Chinese by a DPRK Army deserter in a robbery attempt.
: ROK President Park Geun-hye delivers an online video message in People’s Daily calling for China-ROK cooperation on Northeast Asian peace and stability.
: PRC Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao in a Xinhua interview calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: Fifth round of China-ROK-Japan FTA talks begin in Beijing.
: South Korea’s new Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung meets PRC Ambassador Qiu Guohong in Seoul.
: South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesperson indicates that South Korea is in talks with China, Japan, and Russia to prevent accidental clashes in overlapping air defense areas with the expanded KADIZ.
: President Park and Alibaba’s Executive Chairman Jack Ma meet in Seoul.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for Seoul’s Aug. 11 proposal for high-level talks with North Korea.
: Chinese military arrests North Korean defectors near the China-Laos border.
: PRC and DPRK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Ri Su Yong meet on the sidelines of the ARF in Myanmar.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se meet on the sidelines of the ARF in Myanmar.
: Three South Koreans and one North Korean are executed in China in separate drug offenses.
: Yanji tourism authorities announce opening of a direct bus tour service to Rason.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul visits China to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong, and senior CCP officials.
: Jeju Air announces plans to double its Chinese destinations from August.
: ROK Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announces plans to launch the first joint surveillance with China against illegal fishing after a meeting in Weihai with PRC counterparts.
: PRC Defense Minister Chang Wanquan meets ROK Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo in Beijing.
: Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, meets in Beijing a delegation of ROK National Assembly members led by Vice Speaker Lee Seok-hyun.
: South Korea’s Trade Commission launches an investigation of alleged antidumping by two Chinese suppliers of steel beams.
: Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of staff of the PLA, and ROK Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo meet in Beijing.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui meets a delegation of ROK lawmakers led by Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.
: ROK Defense Ministry spokesperson remarks that the possible deployment of an advanced US missile defense system is unrelated to China.
: PRC Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie and Pak Ho Yong, vice minister of the DPRK Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection, meet in Beijing.
: The 12th round of China-ROK FTA talks are held in Daegu, South Korea.
: South Korean farmers protest in Seoul against China-ROK FTA talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for stability on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea fires two short-range missiles into its eastern waters.
: Xi Jinping visits South Korea for a summit with Park Geun-hye.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for stability on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea fires two short-range projectiles into its eastern waters.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for stability on the Korean Peninsula after DPRK missile launches on June 27 and June 29.
: First Yanji-Mt. Kumgang international tourist group arrives in Pyongyang.
: PRC Ambassador to DPRK Liu Hongcai and DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Guk sign agreement in Pyongyang to build a new Wonjong-Quanhe cross-border bridge.
: China and South Korea hold talks in Ningbo on fishery issues.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson dismisses UN concerns over DPRK defectors in China.
: China Southern Airlines launches first direct flight between Urumqi and Seoul.
: Sixth China-ROK Media High-Level Dialogue is held in Seoul.
: ROK media report China and South Korea hold closed-door maritime talks.
: Chinese state media report that two Chinese travel firms have launched tour packages to North Korea with temporary charter flights from Shanghai.
: North Korean sources report that North Korea is expanding passenger train routes to China and Russia.
: China-ROK Agriculture Cooperation Meeting opens in Lianyungang, China.
: ROK nuclear envoy Hwang Joon-kook meets PRC counterpart Wu Dawei and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
: Hyundai Steel Co. and Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. file an anti-dumping petition against Chinese H-Steel.
: Yanbian University announces it has signed an agreement to provide technical assistance for developing North Korea’s Rason economic zone.
: PRC Ministry of Commerce announces another five-year extension of anti-dumping tax on chemical imports from South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
: Local officials in Dandong announce plans to develop tours of the Hwanggumphyong Island economic zone.
: Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan meets ROK Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se in Beijing.
: KCNA reports that 226 Chinese tourists visited North Korea in June 2-4.
: Local authorities say that North Korea will reopen its part of Mt Baekdu in June to Chinese tourists.
: Chinese tourists take the first bus tour of Heoryong City in North Korea.
: ROK military officials claim that North Korea included part of ROK’s territorial waters near the inter-Korean western sea border when selling fishing rights to China.
: ROK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reports that South Korea has expanded flights to China as its carriers received new rights.
: Bank of Korea says that Chinese importers have tapped won-currency loans for the first time from the bilateral currency swap line.
: China unveils a monument honoring Korean soldiers who fought for Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1910-45).
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s opposition to potential deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea.
: Jilin authorities confirm that construction has started on a bridge over Tumen River linking China and North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits South Korea and meets President Park Geun-hye and ROK counterpart Yun Byung-se.
: The 11th round of China-ROK FTA talks are held in Sichuan, led by Assistant Commerce Ministers Wang Shouwen and Woo Tae-hee.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint after North Korea’s reported artillery shelling into the Yellow Sea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson welcomes North Korea’s decision to participate in the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea.
: DPRK Premier Pak Pong Ju sends a message of sympathy to Premier Li Keqiang on a bombing attack in Urumuqi.
: ROK Minister of Gender Equality and Family Cho Yoon-sun visits Beijing to attend the APEC Women and the Economy Forum.
: South Korean media report that North Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Ri Yong Ho has arrived in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson extends condolences to victims of the apartment building collapse in Pyongyang.
: ROK Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae delivers a speech at Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai.
: DPRK delegation of the Journalists Union of Korea led by Jon Il Gwang, vice chairman of the Central Broadcasting Committee of Korea, leaves Pyongyang to visit China.
: Chinese media report that Jilin province and North Korea’s Air Koryo have agreed to launch a tourist charter flight from July.
: China-ROK-Japan Agreement for Promotion, Facilitation and Protection of Investment comes into effect.
: ROK Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick attends APEC meeting of commerce ministers in Qingdao and meets PRC Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on the sidelines.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai pays a courtesy call on DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong.
: ROK officials announce that South Korea has lodged a complaint with Beijing against a recent increase in Chinese illegal fishing in ROK waters.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson announces completion of the construction of a memorial stone at the former barracks of the Korean Liberation Army in Xi’an.
: PRC delegation arrives in Pyongyang for the 17th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair.
: Kim Jong Un sends messages to foreign leaders including Xi Jinping in response to congratulatory messages on Kim’s re-election as First Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission.
: Korean Airlines announces it will resume flights between Incheon and Urumuqi from May 27 to Oct. 11.
: South Korea’s top music agency SM Entertainment and China’s biggest search engine Baidu sign an agreement to jointly promote legal music downloads.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson denies May 3 Kyodo News reports that the Chinese military has drawn up contingency plans for potential regime collapse in North Korea.
: People’s Republic of China (PRC) state media report that China and North Korea have simplified border-crossing procedures for Chinese tourists.
: Delegation of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations led by Vice President Fu Mengzi arrives in Pyongyang.
: 35 Chinese tourists take a new cross-border bicycle tour to North Korea from Tumen to Namyang.
: Asiana Airlines announces the launching of two weekly flights between Incheon and Jinan from May 2.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for easing tensions on the peninsula in response to DPRK military drills.
: PRC Vice Environment Minister Li Ganjie, and ROK and Japanese Environment Ministers Yoon Seong-kyu and Ishihara Nobuteru hold 16th trilateral Environment Ministers Meeting in Daegu, Korea.
: President Park at a joint press conference with President Obama emphasizes China’s role in addressing the DPRK nuclear issue.
: Presidents Xi and Park hold telephone talks.
: China-ROK-Japan Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum, sponsored by Xinhua, JoongAng Ilbo, and Nikkei, opens in Jiangsu province, China.
: PRC President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang send condolence messages to ROK counterparts over the fatal ferry accident.
: China-ROK-Japan International Forum for the Trilateral Cooperation 2014 is held in Seoul.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson pledges that China will play a “positive role” on the Korean Peninsula.
: A train route opens from Jian, Jilin to North Korea.
: PRC nuclear envoy Wu Dawei meets ROK counterpart Hwang Joon-kook.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se hold telephone talks on Korean Peninsula tensions.
: PRC Premier Li Keqiang meets ROK Prime Minister Jung Hong-won on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for “caution” on the Korean Peninsula after US, ROK, and Japanese nuclear envoys hold trilateral talks in Washington on April 7.
: Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon meet in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for inter-Korean reconciliation in response to ROK President Park Geun-hye’s proposals toward unification.
: Remains of 437 Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War are returned from South Korea to China.
: Ri Ho-son, vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, leads a delegation of WPK economic officials to major Chinese cities.
: President Xi calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks at a meeting with President Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands.
: Presidents Xi and Park hold talks on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for stability on Korean Peninsula.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsular Affairs Wu Dawei visits North Korea. Wu pays a courtesy call on Kim Yong Dae, vice president of the DPRK Supreme People Assembly Presidium, on March 20.
: Tenth round of China-ROK FTA talks is held in Ilsan, South Korea.
: Delegation of the DPRK International Exhibition Cooperation meets Dandong City Vice Mayor Pan Shuang and the Dandong City Council for the Promotion of International Trade to discuss the PRC-DPRK Expo.
: PRC, DPRK, and Russian directors of tourism departments in the Tumen River Area hold a conference in Hunchun.
: Delegation of the DPRK State General Bureau of Tourism led by Vice Director-General Cho Song Kol visits China for personnel training at Chinese tourism institutes in Beijing and Shanghai.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press conference for China’s annual parliamentary session expresses China’s opposition to war or instability on the Korean Peninsula and calls for early resumption of the Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses concern over Chinese civil aviation safety after North Korea’s reported rocket launch.
: Second China-ROK-Japan Trilateral Table Top Exercise on disaster management is held in Tokyo.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses concern over North Korea’s reported missile launches.
: DPRK Premier Pak Pong Ju sends a message of sympathy to PRC Premier Li Keqiang on the terrorist incident in Kunming.
: China, South Korea, and Japan hold their fourth round of FTA talks in Seoul.
: Direct postal service from Hunchun to Rason begins.
: ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Kyung-soo meets PRC Ambassador Qui Guohong and expresses Seoul’s condemnation of terrorist attacks in Kunming.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s reported missile launches on Feb. 27.
: Guo Shengkun, PRC state councilor and minister of public security, and ROK counterpart Lee Sung-han hold talks in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson hopes for inter-Korean reconciliation.
: Jilin Provincial Tourism Bureau Director Zhao Xiaojun and Chon Tong-chol, director of the DPRK Rason Special City Tourism Bureau, hold talks in Changchun.
: Bureau Director Kye Song-nam of the DPRK National Committee for Economic Development leads an economic and trade delegation to China Liaoning International Cooperation Group for negotiations on a fish farming project.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson supports inter-Korean family reunions.
: DPRK Ambassador Ji Jae Ryong and PRC Vice Minister of Culture Ding Wei attend a reception hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture on the 55th anniversary of the conclusion of China-DPRK agreements on cultural cooperation.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visits South Korea, where he meets ROK counterpart Lee Kyung-soo, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, who is also senior foreign affairs and security advisor to President Park.
: Chung Mong-joon, head of the ROK-China Inter-Parliamentary Council, leads a delegation of more than 40 ROK National Assembly members to China, where he meets President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People Congress (NPC), and Wang Chen, vice chairman and secretary general of the NPC Standing Committee.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visits North Korea for consultations with officials from the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Workers’ Party of Korea, DPRK Economic Development Commission, and other departments.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson defends China’s position on human rights in response to a report by UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea.
: China Chamber of International Commerce and the DPRK Chinese Chamber of Commerce hold an economic and trade forum in Dandong.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for an inter-Korean three-point agreement reached at high-level talks.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing that China will never allow instability on the Korean Peninsula.
: DPRK Embassy in Beijing hosts a reception celebrating Kim Jong Il’s birthday, attended by Wang Jiarui, head of the CPC International Liaison Department, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, and Chairman of the China-Korea Friendship Association Wu Donghe.
: PRC Foreign Ministry confirms a visit to Pyongyang by the chief of the ministry’s Asia Department.
: Dandong Sanyi Business Advisory Service Agency and DPRK Yanggakdo Trade Corporation launch a joint project for Chinese business study in North Korea.
: China Southern Airlines announces plans to launch a direct air route between Xinjiang and Seoul, the first international route linking Xinjiang with Northeast Asia.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for the start of the first high-level inter-Korean talks in seven years.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses concern over US-ROK military drills scheduled for February-April.
: Chinese and ROK experts at a Shanghai Normal University and Sung Kyun Kwan University forum agree to strengthen cooperation on protecting “comfort women” documents.
: Korean Central News Agency reports that President Xi and President of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam meet on sidelines of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
: Kim Jong Un sends New Year cards to President Xi and other Chinese officials.
: PRC, ROK, and DPRK representatives at a UN Security Council debate criticize Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for inter-Korean reconciliation.
: Ambassador Liu hosts a meeting with officials of the DPRK Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the New Year, attended by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hyon Chun.
: 2014 Lunar New Year China-DPRK friendship meeting is held in Sunan District, Pyongyang, attended by Ambassador Liu, KCCRFC Vice Chairman Kim, and Vice Chairman of Pyongyang City People’s Committee Hong Kwang Ung.
: PRC Ambassador Liu Hongcai holds a meeting at the Taedonggang Diplomatic Club to mark Spring Festival. Kim Chin Bom, KCCRFC and KCFA vice chairman, and Ri Sun Chol, vice minister of culture attend.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson upholds China’s commemoration of Korean “anti-Japanese activist” Ahn Jung-geun in response to Japanese criticism.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson justifies the establishment of the Ahn Jung-geun memorial in response to Japanese opposition.
: Ahn Jung-geun memorial hall opens in Harbin. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expresses support.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for inter-Korean reconciliation.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean nuclear issue amid tensions over US-ROK plans for annual joint military exercises in February.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s willingness to work with South Korea on history issues related to Japan.
: Kim Ki Sok, chairman of the DPRK State Commission for Economic Development, Huang Shizai, president of the Great China International Group, and Yang Zuoyuan, economic and commercial councilor of the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang, participate in an opening ceremony for an East Pyongyang shopping center.
: Hunchun Vice Mayor Han Changfa announces the launch of the Hunchun-Rason cross-border electric power transmission project.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson positively assesses President Park’s Jan. 6 statements on bilateral ties.
: ROK Defense Ministry spokesperson reports to Xinhua ROK efforts to return by April 2014 the remains of Chinese People’s Volunteer soldiers killed in the Korean War.
: ROK President Park Geun-hye at a national news conference hails the current status of China-ROK relations.
: Ninth round of China-ROK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks are held in Xian, Shaanxi.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses Chinese agreement with South Korea’s position on Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s Yasukuni Shrine visit.
: Head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission Xu Shaoshi and ROK Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok, hold bilateral talks in Seoul.
: ROK Defense Ministry and PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs announce return of the remains of Chinese People’s Volunteers soldiers killed in the Korean War to China.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterates China’s position on Korean Peninsula denuclearization in response to a Rodong Sinmun editorial praising North Korea’s status as a “full-fledged nuclear weapons state.”
: PRC ambassador to the DPRK attends activities commemorating the second anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death.
: Senior DPRK official in the State Economic Development Committee tells Xinhua that DPRK economic policy remains unchanged since the execution of Jang Song Thaek
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses hopes for national stability in North Korea after the execution of Jang Song Thaek.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses regret over South Korea’s decision to expand its ADIZ.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls the removal of Jang Song Thaek from all posts an “internal affair” of the DPRK.
: South Korea announces the southward expansion of its ADIZ.
: ROK National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee leads a delegation to China, meeting Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee Zhang Dejiang on Dec. 4, and President Xi Jinping on Dec. 6.
: Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Wang Guanzhong holds the third China-ROK strategic dialogue in Seoul with ROK Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo, and meets Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin.
: Foreign Minister Yun at a defense forum in Seoul warns that China’s ADIZ may worsen regional tensions.
: Third round of China-ROK-Japan FTA talks is held in Tokyo.
: China announces the establishment of its East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
: PRC Foreign Ministry renews call for the early resumption of Six Party Talks.
: South Korea’s Lotte Tour Development Co. and China’s Greenland Holding Group announce a $1 billion joint skyscraper project on Jeju Island.
: PRC Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Liu Zhenmin and ROK counterpart Kim Kyou-hyun attend a ceremony in Seoul launching a joint committee on academic, youth, sports, and media exchanges.
: PRC Foreign Ministry hails ROK independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, who assassinated Japanese governor-general Hirobumi Ito in Harbin in 1909.
: US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies leads a delegation to China, South Korea, and Japan.
: South Korea’s Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Sung Il-hwan visits China and meets PRC counterpart Gen. Ma Xiaotian and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan.
: Eighth round of China-ROK FTA talks are held in Incheon.
: PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi visits South Korea and meets President Park, Chief National Security Advisor Kim Jang-soo, and Foreign Minister Yun.
: Chinese authorities detain 11 DPRK defectors and 2 ethnic Korean guides in Kunming, Yunnan.
: PRC and ROK culture ministries sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on cultural goods marketing abroad and launch a joint forum between cultural content industry experts.
: President Park at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy proposes the creation of a joint history textbook between China, Japan, and South Korea.
: ROK nuclear envoy Cho Tae-yong arrives in Beijing for talks with PRC counterpart Wu Dawei and other Chinese officials.
: ROK Justice Ministry tightens its no-visa regulations on Chinese cruise tourists in an effort to curb recent increases in illegal Chinese immigrants.
: PRC-ROK-Japan vice foreign ministerial trilateral talks are held in Seoul.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei arrives in North Korea for talks on the resumption of Six Party Talks.
: Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and PRC Ambassador to South Korea Zhang Xinsen open “China Day” in Seoul marking the 20th anniversary of sister city ties.
: Liu Qibao, head of the CPC Publicity Department and member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, meets a Rodong Sinmun delegation in Beijing led by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kim Won Sok.
: Beijing Vice Mayor Yang Xiaochao leads a 300-member delegation to Seoul for 20th anniversary celebrations of sister city ties.
: PRC delegation led by Wu Dawei, special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, arrives in the US for working-level talks with US counterparts.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson states that reasonable DPRK concerns should be addressed after Pyongyang releases a statement on conditions for denuclearization.
: PRC Vice President Li Yuanchao meets Jon Yong Nam, chairman of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Central Committee, who leads a DPRK youth delegation to China.
: China, US, Japan, South Korea, and Russia hold cyber security talks in Seoul.
: A Chinese fisherman is shot to death during a clash between the ROK Coast Guard and Chinese fishing boats.
: Dandong Mayor Shi Guang announces that a new China-DPRK border trade complex will begin operations by 2014.
: PRC Foreign Ministry and PRC Consulate General in Kwangju call on ROK counterparts for a fair investigation of the Oct. 7 fishing dispute.
: President Park and PRC Premier Li Keqiang hold talks on the sidelines of regional meetings in Brunei.
: Second China-DPRK economic, trade, culture, and tourism expo is held in Dandong, Liaoning.
: Presidents Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye hold talks on the sidelines of the 21st APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Bali.
: ROK authorities in Mokpo detain two Chinese fishing boats suspected of illegal fishing in ROK waters after violent clashes with ROK Coast Guard.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the general debate of the UN General Assembly calls for peaceful solutions to the Korean and Iranian nuclear issues.
: The 5th China-ROK-Japan ministerial meeting on culture is held in Gwangju.
: China and South Korea launch a joint forum on public diplomacy in Seoul.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for improved ROK-DPRK relations in response to North Korea’s Sept. 21 decision to postpone inter-Korean family reunions and working-level talks on the resumption of Mt. Kumgang tours.
: DPRK First Vice Foreign Minister and nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan meets PRC State Councilor Yang Jiechi in Beijing.
: Ma Xingrui, head of the Chinese delegation to the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, calls for peaceful settlement of the Korean and Iranian nuclear issues.
: PRC Foreign Ministry affirms that DPRK denuclearization serves Chinese and US interests after Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel’s visit to China on Sept. 13-14.
: Chinese cruise ship passengers return to China after Jeju court releases the ship with a deposit of 3 billion won ($2.8 million) from Beijing-based operator HNA Tourism.
: Jeju court detains a Chinese cruise ship with over 2,000 passengers based on legal claims against the Beijing-based operator by a Chinese subsidiary of Jiangsu Shagang Group.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for resumption of Six-Party Talks after talks between PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei and US counterpart Glyn Davies.
: China and South Korea hold the seventh round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks in Beijing, completing the first phase of talks.
: PRC and ROK Defense Ministers Chang Wanquan and Kim Kwan-jin hold talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Brunei.
: DPRK state media reports that Chinese state-owned automaker FAW Group Corp has signed a letter of intent with the Rason local government to invest in building a car manufacturing factory in North Korea.
: PRC nuclear envoy Wu Dawei arrives in North Korea for talks with DPRK counterpart Kim Kye Gwan.
: Lee Byung-suk, vice speaker of the ROK National Assembly, meets Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, during a visit to China for the 8th round of regular parliamentary exchanges.
: Chinese and ROK Trade Ministers Gao Hucheng and Yoon Sang-jick hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of a regional economic meeting in Brunei.
: ROK delegation led by former Prime Minister Lee Soo-song meets Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and attends the 13th China-ROK Elite Forum in Beijing.
: Chinese state media reports that China has submitted a claim to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf extending the East China Sea continental shelf to the Okinawa Trough.
: Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se, hold telephone talks. Wang expresses support for inter-Korean agreement to reopen Kaesong Industrial Zone.
: ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announces the closure of the China-ROK district in the Yellow Sea free economic zone.
: PRC nuclear envoy Wu Dawei holds talks with Japanese counterpart Junichi Ihara in Beijing on the DPRK nuclear issue.
: PLA Navy vessel visits a South Korean port as part of training exercises.
: ROK delegation led by Kim Han-Kyu, chairman of the 21st Century Korea-China Exchange Association, attends the fifth High-Level Dialogue of China-ROK Media and meets Liu Qibao, head of the CPC Publicity Department.
: Second round of FTA talks between China, South Korea, and Japan are held in Shanghai.
: A delegation of the China Institute of International Studies led by Vice President Guo Xiangang arrives in Pyongyang.
: China-DPRK Korean Fine Art Exhibition opens in Beijing to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
: PRC Vice President Li Yuanchao, a PLA art and culture delegation, and a delegation of war veterans of the Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) arrive in Pyongyang for 60th anniversary commemorations of the Korean War armistice. Li meets Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s National Defense Commission hosts a banquet for CPV war veterans.
: ROK National Assembly delegation led by Chung Mong-joon, head of the ROK-China Inter-Parliamentary Council, meets PRC Vice President Li Yuanchao.
: ROK Navy Chief Adm. Choi Yoon-hee and PRC counterpart Wu Shengli in Qingdao reach agreement on China-ROK fisheries control cooperation in the Yellow Sea.
: South Korea’s Asiana Airlines apologizes in Chinese newspapers for its plane crash in San Francisco that killed three Chinese students.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for the resumption of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
: China’s Ministry of Agriculture bans Chinese fishermen from fishing in waters off North Korea’s east coast.
: ROK maritime minister announces that China has agreed in principle to intensify crack downs on illegal Chinese fishing in waters shared with South Korea
: Chinese soldiers conduct a river-crossing exercise on the Yalu River in Dandong City bordering North Korea.
: Wang Jiarui, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the CPC International Department meets a WPK delegation led by Kim Song Nam, vice director of the WPK International Affairs Department.
: The sixth round of China-ROK FTA negotiations are held in Busan, Korea.
: Thousands of South Korean farmers and fishermen hold protests in Busan against a potential FTA with China.
: Foreign Minister Wang Yi and DPRK counterpart Pak Ui Chun hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional security conference in Brunei
: Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Brunei.
: South Korea’s SK Innovation Co. announces the signing of a joint venture deal between SK Global Chemical Co. and China National Petrochemical Corp. (SINOPEC).
: President Park makes a state visit to China and meets President Xi.
: Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks on the sidelines of the World Peace Forum in Beijing.
: UN report shows that Pyongyang breached a contract with a Chinese company by converting lumber transporters into missile launch transporters.
: North Korea launches four short-range projectiles into waters off its east coast according to ROK sources.
: Fifth Trilateral Governors Meeting of the central banks of China, Japan, and South Korea is held in Basel, Switzerland.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei and ROK nuclear envoy Cho Tae-yong hold talks in China.
: DPRK First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan visits China for a strategic dialogue, co-chaired by PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.
: Chinese and Korean business leaders attend the Korea-China Economic Forum in Seoul, hosted by the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association.
: Kim Jong Un sends a birthday message to PRC President Xi Jinping.
: Former PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan meets President Park Geun-hye in Seoul.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for inter-Korean reconciliation after Pyongyang proposes the holding of inter-Korean talks.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and ROK First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun hold the sixth high-level China-ROK strategic dialogue in Beijing.
: ROK JCS Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo visits China and meets Gen. Fang Fenghui, chairman of the PLA General Staff.
: ROK and PRC senior diplomats meet ahead of Park Geun-hye’s visit to China.
: ROK Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the PLA General Staff, hold talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: Choe Ryong Hae, director of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) General Political Bureau and member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, visits China as Kim Jong Un’s special envoy, accompanied by KPA Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil, Vice Department Director of the Worker’s Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee Kim Song Nam, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hyong Jun, and KPA Lt. Gen. Kim Su Gil.
: DPRK authorities release 16 Chinese fishermen who were detained on May 5.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions after North Korea fires missiles into the East Sea on May 18-20.
: ROK media reports that Chinese banks suspend transactions with a DPRK bank suspected of funding Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
: US Treasury Department announces it has imposed sanctions on a Taiwanese firm and CEO for ties with North Korea’s weapons program.
: Chinese ship owner Yu Xuejun appeals to the PRC Embassy in Pyongyang for help on the release of 16 Chinese fishermen detained in North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson affirms China’s positive role in easing Korean Peninsula tensions.
: Bank of China shuts down a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank account with ties to North Korean nuclear and missile development programs.
: ROK President Park Geun-hye urges China to exercise more leverage over Pyongyang for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
: DPRK authorities demand a 600,000 RMB ($96,774) ransom for the release of a Chinese fishing boat from Dalian with 16 fishermen according to Chinese state media.
: The 15th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting between China, South Korea, and Japan is held in Kitakyushu, Japan.
: ROK nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam visits China for talks with PRC counterpart Wu Dawei and other officials.
: Japanese officials report Beijing’s cancellation of China-ROK-Japan finance ministers talks scheduled in May.
: China-ROK free trade talks are held in Harbin, China.
: South Korea offers $1 million in relief aid to China for the Sichuan earthquake.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Wang and Yun hold talks in Beijing. They agree to open a new hotline for policy consultations on North Korea.
: PRC Ambassador Zhang Xinsen and Foreign Minister Yun meet in Seoul.
: Lawmaker of South Korea’s Democratic United Party Do Jong-hwan releases a Northeast Asian History Foundation report on Chinese textbook distortions of Korean history.
: North Korea warns against the spread of bird flu from China.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson pledges that China will comply with UN resolutions against Pyongyang.
: Jeju Air announces plans to add three more Chinese cities to its network.
: DPRK arts exhibition opens in Beijing to commemorate the 101st anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birthday; the DPRK ambassador to China attends.
: Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expresses support for China’s commitment to UN sanctions against North Korea.
: PLA spokesperson denies reports of Chinese military buildup on the China-DPRK border.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula amid reports of an expected missile launch.
: Foreign Minister Wang Yi and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hold telephone talks on Korean Peninsula tensions.
: A Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia exhibition is held in Dalian in commemoration of Kim Il Sung’s 101st birthday.
: Yanbian tourism authorities announce that 50 direct charter flights will soon operate between Yanji and Pyongyang.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s regret over North Korea’s intentions to reopen its nuclear facilities.
: President Xi in a letter to President Park expresses hopes to strengthen the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership.
: First round of China-ROK-Japan Free Trade Agreement talks held in Seoul.
: Presidents Xi and Park hold telephone talks on bilateral and regional relations.
: Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yun Byung-se hold telephone talks on bilateral and regional relations.
: ROK Foreign Ministry spokesperson congratulates Xi Jinping on his election as PRC president.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reaffirms China’s opposition to North Korea’s nuclear test.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as annual US-ROK military exercises begin.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s support of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2094 on North Korea’s third nuclear test.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula after the DPRK military vows to nullify the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula in response to U.S.-ROK military exercises.
: PRC delegation to the IAEA at a board meeting in Vienna calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for the UN’s “prudent and moderate” response to North Korea’s nuclear test.
: PRC Defense Ministry spokesperson calls for easing Korean Peninsula tensions in response to media reports of South Korean military buildup plans.
: PRC and ROK nuclear envoys Wu Dawei and Lim Sung-nam hold talks on the Korean Peninsula situation.
: State Councilor Liu meets ROK President Park Geun-hye and attends Park’s inauguration ceremony in Seoul.
: PRC State Councilor Liu Yandong meets President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi after talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow expresses China’s commitment to Korean Peninsula denuclearization.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for dialogue on Korean nuclear issue.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei meets Japan’s chief negotiator for the Six-Party Talks Sugiyama Shinsuke in Beijing.
: PRC and Russian Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi and Sergei Lavrov hold telephone talks on North Korea’s nuclear test.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Minsters Yang Jiechi and Kim Sung-hwan hold telephone talks on North Korea’s nuclear test.
: North Korea conducts a nuclear test. China denounces it in a Foreign Ministry statement. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summons DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang and US Secretary of State John Kerry hold telephone talks on North Korea’s nuclear test.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson urges restraint from concerned parties in response to Pyongyang’s pledge to conduct a nuclear test.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2087 condemning North Korea’s Dec. 12. 2012 rocket launch. PRC Permanent Representative to the UN Li Baodong affirms China’s support for the resolution.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for a “prudent and moderate” UN Security Council response to North Korea’s December 2012 rocket launch.
: ROK Special Envoy Kim Moo-sung of President-elect Park Geun-hye meets PRC leaders in Beijing including Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, State Councilor Dai Binguo, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun visits South Korea and meets President-elect Park Geun-hye.
: Seventh meeting of the China-DPRK Committee for Cooperation on Economy, Trade, Science and Technology is held in Pyongyang. PRC Vice Minister of Commerce Li Jinzao, DPRK Vice Foreign Trade Minister Ku Pon Thae, Vice Chairman of the DPRK Commission for Joint Venture and Investment Ri Chol Sok, and PRC Ambassador Liu Hongcai attend the signing ceremony for an economic and technological cooperation agreement.
: PRC arson suspect Liu Qiang returns to China after being released from a Seoul prison.
: China’s National Development and Reform Commission announces that it has fined South Korea’s Samsung and LG a total of $35 million for fixing prices of LCD panels supplied to Chinese TV makers between 2001 and 2006.
: Park Geun-hye holds private talks with the ambassadors of China, the United States, Japan, and Russia in Seoul after her Dec. 19 election as president of the ROK.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson pledges to strengthen ties with South Korea under Park Geun-hye. President Hu Jintao sends a congratulatory message to Park.
: DPRK launches a satellite into outer space; PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses “regret.”
: Eleven Chinese sailors are rescued from a cargo ship in ROK waters near the DPRK border.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for joint efforts on Korean Peninsula stability in response to DPRK’s decision to delay its rocket launch due to “technical deficiency.”
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expresses concern over the DPRK’s planned rocket launch in a telephone conversation with US counterpart Hillary Clinton.
: China and South Korea hold their first conference on internet cooperation.
: Bank of Korea and People’s Bank of China agree to support trade settlements for local companies through the RMB-Won currency swap line.
: President Lee Myung-bak calls for furthering China-ROK ties in an interview with Chinese state media.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses concern over the DPRK’s announcement of satellite launch plans.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for South Korea’s impartial handling of Chinese citizen Liu Qiang, detained in South Korea after protesting Japan’s World War II crimes.
: Li Jianguo, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and vice chairman and secretary general of the National People’s Congress, leads a CCP delegation to North Korea as part of goodwill visits to the DPRK, Laos, and Vietnam.
: ROK nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam visits Beijing for talks with PRC counterpart Wu Dawei.
: First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn visits China for the fifth High-Level Strategic Dialogue in Beijing with PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and a meeting with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese economic and trade ministers Chen Deming, Bark Tae-ho, and Edano Yukio on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings agree to launch trilateral FTA talks.
: Chen Baosheng, vice president of the CCP Central Party School visits South Korea and meets First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young and other senior officials.
: Premier Wen Jiabao and President Lee Myung-bak attend the ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Phnom Penh. They hold bilateral talks on the sidelines.
: President Lee Myung-bak sends a congratulatory message to Xi Jinping on his election as CCP general secretary and head of the Military Commission.
: Kim Jong UN sends a congratulatory message to Xi Jinping on his election as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary and head of the Military Commission.
: Kim Sung Nam, vice director of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) International Department, expresses support for China-DPRK traditional friendship and socialist construction in an interview with Chinese state media.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint from North and South Korea amid inter-Korean tensions over South Korea’s anti-DPRK leaflets.
: ROK Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses “regret” over the shooting death of a Chinese fisherman by a ROK Coast Guard.
: PRC Foreign Ministry urges South Korea to carry out fair investigations on the Oct. 16 shooting death of a Chinese fisherman.
: Vice President of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs Lu Shumin, ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, and former Japanese Science and Technology Minister Nakagawa Masaharu attend the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat’s first forum in Seoul.
: First China-DPRK Economic, Trade, Culture and Tourism Expo is held in Dandong.
: South Korea hosts a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise in waters off Busan; 7 warships and 11 aircraft from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea participate.
: North Korean Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation and China’s private GBD Public Diplomacy and Culture Exchange Center give presentations in Beijing on Rajin and the Hwanggumphyong/ Wihwa Islands Economic Zones.
: China’s Overseas Investment Federation (COIF) and the North Korea Investment Office (NKIO) under the Joint Venture and Investment Committee of North Korea (JVIC) agree to launch the “Special Fund for Investment in North Korea.”
: Chinese students protest near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute with Japan.
: People’s Republic of China (PRC) Commerce Ministry spokesperson indicates that Japan’s “purchase” of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands will adversely affect planned China-Japan-ROK FTA talks.
: PRC Ministry of Public Security extradites a South Korean fraud suspect detained in China in 2007.
: South Korean media reports that 4 or 5 ports along North Korea’s eastern coast are being developed by Chinese and DPRK companies.
: Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reports on an opening ceremony for a new management board building at the Hwanggumphyong Economic Zone.
: ROK Foreign Ministry announces plans to send humanitarian aid to China after a deadly earthquake in Yunnan on Sept. 7.
: Chinese officials at the Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo in Changchun report on investment progress at the China-DPRK Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone.
: Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress Chen Zhili co-chairs the 7th China-ROK Parliamentary Exchange Meeting in Seoul and meets National Assembly speaker Kang Chang-hee and Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik.
: Yanbian Haihua Group secures investment deal on North Korea’s Chongjin Port.
: PRC Vice President Xi Jinping attends a reception marking the 20th anniversary of Sino-South Korean diplomatic ties, co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the ROK Embassy in Beijing.
: South Korea opens a consular office in Dalian, Liaoning province.
: President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and President Lee Myung-bak, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, exchange messages to celebrate the 20th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations.
: Jang Song Taek meets President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing.
: China and North Korea open a new tourist route from Yanji to Rason.
: Jang Song Taek meets International Department head Wang Jiarui in Beijing. Others attending are Deputy Head of the CCP International Department Liu Jieyi, PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai, and DPRK Ambassador to China Chi Jae Ryong.
: Kim Jong Un attends the completion ceremony of an amusement park in Pyongyang with PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai, Kim’s aunt Kim Kyong Hui, Director of the People’s Army General Political Bureau Cho Ryong Hae, and other officials.
: The third meeting of the China-DPRK joint steering committee for the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone is held in Beijing, co-chaired by Jang Song Taek and Chen Deming, PRC minister of commerce.
: Jang Song Taek, head of the WPK Central Administrative Department, leads a 50-person delegation of the DPRK-China Joint Guidance Committee to China.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese central bank governors meet in Dalian.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry releases Beijing’s first official comments rejecting allegations of torture against a South Korean rights activist detained in China.
: South Korea’s Farm Ministry confirms that South Korea and China agreed to reduce fishing quotas in each other’s exclusive economic zones.
: ROK Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul visits China and meets Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and participates in the second China-ROK strategic defense talks with Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the PLA General Staff.
: Wang Jiarui, head of the CCP International Department, leads delegation to North Korea to meet Kim Jong Un and DPRK counterpart Kim Yong Il, accompanied by Deputy Director of the WPK’s International Affairs Department Kim Song Nam and PRC Ambassador Liu Hongcai.
: First Lady of the DPRK Ri Sol Ju receives PRC Ambassador Liu Hongcai at a theme park.
: Ri Myong Su, member of the WPK Political Bureau and National Defense Committee and North Korea’s minister of people’s security, visits China and meets Chinese counterpart Meng Jianzhu and Zhou Yongkang, member of the CCP Political Bureau Standing Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee.
: South Korean activist Kim Young-hwan returns to South Korea after his 114-day detention in China.
: Kim Jong Un is appointed marshal after Ri Yong Ho’s dismissal as People’s Army chief of General Staff and Hyon Yong Chol’s promotion to vice marshal.
: China opens a consular office on Jeju Island.
: PRC State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu visits South Korea and meets President Lee Myung-bak, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin, Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Kim Ki-Yong, and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service chief.
: PRC and ROK Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi and Kim Sung-hwan meet on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial-level meetings in Phnom Penh.
: PRC and DPRK Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi and Park Ui Chun meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial-level meetings in Phnom Penh.
: China-ROK FTA talks are held on Jeju Island. South Korean farmers and fishermen hold protests against the talks in Seoul on July 3.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for regional peace and stability after the delay in the signing of the first military pact between South Korea and Japan.
: China launches a cruise to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang. About 100 Chinese tourists from Jilin begin their 4-day trip.
: PRC Defense Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s opposition to the strengthening of military alliances following joint US, South Korea and Japan military drills.
: PRC Vice Premier Wang Qishan visits South Korea for the “China National Day” ceremony of the Yeosu Expo and meets Minister of Strategy and Finance Park Jae-wan.
: PRC and ROK officials attend the third ASEAN+3 forum on armed forces unconventional security at Shijazhuang Army Command College of the PLA.
: South Korea and Taiwan hold initial discussions in Taipei on a bilateral investment treaty.
: A delegation of the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association visits China and meets PRC Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Beijing.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for regional peace and stability in response to planned US-ROK-Japan joint naval exercises south of the peninsula.
: PRC Foreign Ministry denies Japanese media reports that Chinese exported missile launch vehicles to North Korea in August 2011 in violation of UN sanctions.
: More than 100 Chinese soldiers conduct a river-crossing exercise on the Yalu River border with North Korea.
: A PRC spokesman expresses China’s support for Korean denuclearization in response to North Korea’s claim of “nuclear-armed state” status in its constitution.
: The PRC Ministry of Defense spokesman refutes ROK media reports on China’s signing of a military supply agreement with South Korea.
: PRC and ROK culture ministers attend the fifth ASEAN+3 Culture Ministerial Meeting in Singapore.
: Wang Zhizhen, vice chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Chung Ui-hwa, South Korea’s acting National Assembly speaker, agree to expand parliamentary exchanges.
: Twenty-eight Chinese fishermen return to China after being detained for 13 days by the DPRK.
: DPRK Vice Minister of Public Health Kang Ka Kuk leads a delegation to Beijing and visits Beijing Chaoyang Hospital.
: PRC Premier Wen Jiabao, ROK President Lee Myung-bak, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda hold the fifth China-ROK-Japan summit in Beijing.
: Jang Hyon Chol, secretary of the Central Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, leads a DPRK youth delegation to China. The delegation tours Fujian province and meets Quanzhou city’s Deputy Party Secretary Zhu Shufang and Secretary of the Provincial Communist Youth League committee He Minghua.
: DPRK Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Kil Yon and PRC Ambassador to Pyongyang Liu Hongcai sign an agreement on developing the cross-border bridge between Ji’an and Manpo cities.
: China’s Fishery Administration rescues a South Korean fishing boat and relocates its 8 crew members to Haimen port, Zhejiang.
: DPRK authorities seize 3 Chinese fishing boats and detain 28 Chinese fishermen.
: Vice chairman of the Beijing-based Investment and Development Group of the DPRK, Kim Chol Chin, and the mayor of Tumen city, sign an agreement on the development of North Korea’s Onsong Island.
: A North Korean agricultural technology survey group visits Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences.
: A delegation of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League led by secretary of its Central Committee, Ri Young Hwan, attends 90th anniversary celebrations of the Communist Youth League of China and the 93rd anniversary of the May 4 Movement in China.
: A China Association for International Friendly Contacts delegation led by its president, Li Zhaoxing, visits Pyongyang. Li meets President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam and attends a ceremony to donate materials for the renovation of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
: China and South Korea launch free trade agreement (FTA) talks.
: Nine Chinese fishermen suspected of illegal fishing are detained after clashes in the Yellow Sea leave four ROK Coast Guard officers injured. Two of the Chinese are arrested on May 2.
: China’s Jilin province launches tourist train services to North Korea between Tumen city and Chilbo Mountain.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterates China’s commitment to Korean denuclearization and calls for restraint amid speculation over a third North Korean nuclear test.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula in response to the Korean People’s Army’s threat to launch “special operations” against the ROK government and conservative media.
: Kim Yong Il, alternate member of the Political Bureau, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, and WPK International Department head, leads a party delegation to Beijing. He holds a “strategic dialogue” with CCP counterparts led by International Department head Wang Jiarui, meets State Councilor Dai Bingguo, and President Hu Jintao, and CCP Organizational Department head Li Yuanchao.
: Incheon District Court issues a 30-year prison term and fine to a Chinese fishing boat skipper for killing a ROK coast guard in December 2011. PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejects South Korea’s “unilateral application” of the EEZ law.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for dialogue on North Korea after the UNSC issues a President’s Statement condemning North Korea’s launch.
: First trilateral meeting between agriculture ministers of China, South Korea, and Japan is held on Jeju Island.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi holds separate talks by phone with US, ROK, and Japanese counterparts on Korean Peninsula tensions.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the China-Russia-India foreign ministers meeting in Moscow calls for calm and restraint after North Korea’s failed launch.
: President Hu Jintao sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un on Kim’s appointment as First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
: Sixth China-ROK-Japan Foreign Ministers Meeting is held in Ningbo, China.
: A delegation of the PLA Foreign Affairs Department led by Maj. Gen. Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense, meets DPRK National Defense Commission Vice Chairman and Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Vice Marshall Kim Yong Chun in Pyongyang.
: Opening ceremony of the China-ROK Year of Friendship is held at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, attended by PRC and ROK Vice Culture Ministers Kwak Young-jin and Wang Wenzhang.
: Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in an interview with Xinhua affirms China’s commitment to Korean Peninsula peace and stability.
: China and South Korea launch a three-year joint project on mitigating desertification in Dunhuang, Gansu province.
: Presidents Hu Jintao and Lee Myung-bak meet on the sidelines of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.
: PRC State Councilor Dai Bingguo and US National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon discuss the Korean Peninsula situation by phone.
: Director General of Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Luo Zhaohui affirms that “China has expressed its stance and concern to all sides” regarding North Korea’s launch.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Affairs Wu Dawei meets DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirms that senior diplomats have exchanged views with DPRK, Russian, US, ROK, and Japanese ambassadors.
: North Korea announces that it will launch in April an “earth observation” satellite using a long-range rocket to mark the 100th birthday of the late Kim Il Sung.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun meets DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong to express concern over North Korea’s planned satellite launch.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserts China’s “consistent” position toward DPRK aid and expresses support for the US-DPRK food aid agreement.
: The Zhenjiang local government confirms that a ROK ship is being sued over a chemical spill in the Yangtze River.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress calls for a “balanced” approach to the Korean nuclear issue.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for US-DPRK contact and food aid talks.
: PRC Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations Cheng Jingye calls for the early resumption of Six-Party Talks at an IAEA board meeting in Vienna.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing expresses support for progress in US-DPRK nuclear talks.
: Director of the China Earthquake Administration Chen Jianmin confirms that seismologists from China, ROK, and Japan are conducting a joint research program aimed to strengthen cooperation on combatting earthquakes, volcanos, and tsunamis.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Seoul for annual inter-ministerial consultations and meets President Lee Myung-bak and ROK counterpart Kim Sung-hwan.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses hopes for South Korea’s handling of the “illegal border crossing” into China by DPRK nationals.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirms Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying’s visit to North Korea the previous week.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun meets First Deputy Foreign Minister of the DPRK Kim Kye Gwan in Beijing.
: PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei meets US counterpart Glyn Davies in Beijing, at the conclusion of US-DPRK talks in Beijing on Feb. 23.
: Heilongjiang authorities announce that North Korea’s Air Koryo will launch a charter flight route between Pyongyang and Harbin on April 27.
: President Lee Myung-bak in a nationally-televised address calls for China’s treatment of DPRK refugees “according to international norms.” The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterates China’s position that DPRK nationals who have illegally entered China for economic reasons are not refugees.
: ROK Foreign Ministry announces plans to seek support from the UN Human Rights Council for efforts to rescue DPRK refugees under Chinese detention.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying visits Pyongyang and meets DPRK counterpart Kim Sung Gi.
: Wuhan Maritime Court orders the detention of a ROK cargo ship over a chemical spill that partially contaminated the drinking water source of Zhenjiang.
: ROK Embassy in Beijing reports that 1,073 medical treatment visas were issued to Chinese nationals in 2011, a 386 percent increase from 2010.
: China Securities Regulatory Commission grants South Korean sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) investor status.
: President Lee visits China and meets President Hu, Premier Wen Jiabao, and top legislator Wu Bangguo.
: North Korea opens its Kwangbok Area Supermarket in west Pyongyang, a joint venture between the DPRK’s Taesong General Trading Corporation and China’s Feihaimengxin Trading Company.
: Presidents Hu Jintao and Lee Myung-bak exchange New Year greetings and launch the year of bilateral friendship.
: President Hu Jintao sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un on Kim’s appointment as top military commander of the Korean People’s Army.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and ROK First Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan hold the fourth China-ROK high-level strategic dialogue in Seoul. Zhang also meets Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik.
: Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission Xu Caihou, Director of the PLA General Political Department Li Jinai, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Ma Xiaotian, and other senior PLA officers visit the DPRK Embassy in Beijing to offer condolences on Kim Jong Il’s death.
: ROK nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam visits Beijing and meets PRC counterpart Wu Dawei.
: Senior PRC officials Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang, and Zhou Yongkang offer condolences on Kim Jong Il’s death at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing. PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai, accompanied by DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Song-gi, pays respects at Kumsusan Memorial Palace on behalf of Chinese state entities.
: President Hu Jintao visits the DPRK Embassy in Beijing to offer condolences on Kim Jong Il’s death. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi holds telephone conversations with Russian, Japanese, US, and ROK counterparts. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Li Baodong visits the residence of the DPRK Permanent Mission in New York.
: Korean Central News Agency reports on Kim Jong Il’s death on Dec. 17, 2011. PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman expresses condolences to the people of the DPRK. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meets Park Myong Ho, charge d’affaires of the DPRK Embassy in Beijing.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese delegates in Pyeongchang, South Korea, conclude a joint study on a trilateral free trade agreement.
: DPRK Deputy Premier Han Kwang Bok meets PRC Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses concern over South Korean protests at the PRC Embassy in Seoul over the Dec. 12 clash between Chinese fishermen and ROK Coast Guard vessels.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses hopes for creating conditions for the resumption of Six-Party Talks in light of meetings between US special envoy and regional counterparts.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses regret over the “unfortunate incident” in the Yellow Sea and pledges to actively cooperate with the ROK.
: Ri Gun, chief of the American Affairs Bureau of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arrives in Beijing.
: Crew members on a Chinese fishing boat clash with two ROK Coast Guard vessels in the Yellow Sea, leaving one dead and the other injured.
: Local PRC officials announce that Dandong will host a Sino-DPRK economic, trade and cultural expo in June 2012.
: A Rodong Sinmun delegation meets Liu Yunshan, head of the CPC Publicity Department, in Beijing.
: Chinese and South Korean navies hold fourth joint search and rescue exercise (SAREX).
: Premier Wen Jiabao and President Lee Myung-bak attend the ASEAN Plus 3 Summit, East Asia Summit, and China-ROK-Japan trilateral in Bali.
: A DPRK youth delegation led by top youth official Ri Yong Chol meets PRC Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
: Director of the PLA General Political Department Li Jinai leads a senior PRC military delegation to North Korea.
: Kim Jong Il meets PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai in Pyongyang, accompanied by Kim Jong Un, Vice Chairman of Central Military Commission Kim Yong Ho.
: ROK Special Representative Lim Sung-nam visits Beijing to meet PRC counterpart Wu Dawei.
: North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister and nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan arrives in Beijing for a reported meeting with PRC counterpart Wu Dawei.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese officials hold talks on disaster management and release a joint declaration on trilateral cooperation.
: Vice Premier Li Keqiang meets President Lee Myung-bak, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, Parliamentary Speaker Park Hee-tae, and representatives of South Korean economic bodies and ROK-PRC friendship organizations in Seoul.
: ROK Coast Guard releases two Chinese fishing boats detained on Oct. 22 for illegal operations in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
: PRC Vice Premier Li Keqiang meets Kim Jong Il, top legislator Kim Yong Nam, and Premier Choe Yong Rim in North Korea.
: Kim Pyong Ho, director general of Korean Central News Agency, meets Liu Yunshan, head of the CPC Publicity Department, in Beijing.
: Former PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan meets ROK Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in Seoul.
: Jilin province launches a group tour allowing Chinese tourists to travel around North Korea by train.
: Guo Shengkun, alternate member of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee, meets top DPRK legislator Kim Yong Nam in Pyongyang during his five-day visit to North Korea.
: PRC Foreign Ministry expresses support for inter-Korean dialogue in light of a planned visit to the DPRK by ROK’s governing party leader Hong Joon-pyo.
: PRC Defense Ministry spokesperson calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula in response to reported US-ROK consultations on the deployment of the US Global Hawk reconnaissance drone near the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
: Korea, Japan, and China open a secretariat for trilateral cooperation in Seoul.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi calls for dialogue and consultation on the Korean Peninsula through the six-party mechanism at the annual UN General Assembly.
: DPRK Premier Choe Yong-rim visits Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu provinces, where he meets President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, and Jiangsu Governor Li Xueyong, and tours Chinese industrial companies.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and ROK counterpart Kim Sung-hwan meet on the sidelines of annual UN General Assembly meetings in New York.
: The China-DPRK Hyesan-China Joint Venture Mineral Company launches operations in Hyesan of North Korea’s Ryanggang province. DPRK Mining Industries Minister Kang Min Chol, Chairman of the Ryanggang Province People’s Committee Kim Chol, and PRC Ambassador to Pyongyang Liu Hongcai attend the opening ceremony.
: Beijing hosts an international forum to commemorate the signing of the September 2005 Joint Statement, attended by six-party representatives and Ri Yong Ho, vice minister of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi calls for “creating conditions” for the resumption of dialogue.
: PRC envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Cheng Jingye calls for the early resumption of the Six-Party Talks at an IAEA board meeting.
: China and South Korea at the Seventh China Jilin Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo in Changchun sign a Memorandum of Understanding on construction of an industrial park in the Liangjiang New Economic Zone in Chongqing.
: The sixth China-ROK-Japan feasibility study meeting on a trilateral FTA is held in Changchun.
: Lee Myung-bak names former chief of staff and Ambassador to China Woo Yoo-ik as new ROK unification minister.
: China and South Korea agree to conduct a joint environmental study on the Yellow Sea.
: Kim Jong Il visits Northeast China following his Russian tour and meets State Councilor Dai Binguo in Heilongjiang province on Aug. 26.
: Jon Chang Bok, chief of the General Logistics Bureau of the KPA Armed Forces Department, leads a Korean People’s Army delegation to China and meets Liao Xilong, chief of the PLA General Logistics Department, and Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac meets counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing.
: North Korea holds an international trade fair at the Rason economic zone.
: JoongAng Ilbo reports that Kim Jong Il during his May visit to China secured China’s agreement to provide 200,000 tons of free fertilizer and 500,000 tons of discounted corn.
: South Korean retailer Lotte Mart Co. announces plans to expand its number of stores in China from 82 to 300 by the end of 2018.
: Yonhap reports that North Korea has installed surveillance cameras and barbed wire in border areas with China in an effort to contain defection.
: ROK Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon at an ASEAN trade ministers meeting in Indonesia says that South Korea and China are considering negotiations on a bilateral FTA.
: DPRK’s Air Koryo expands flight service between Pyongyang and Shenyang.
: Chinese Navy fleet visits Wonsan, North Korea, where Vice Adm. Tian Zong, commander of China’s northern fleet, is received by DPRK Rear Adm. Kim Myong Sik.
: Korean Central News Agency announces that Beijing and the Red Cross Society of China have offered emergency flood relief materials to Pyongyang.
: PRC Deputy Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian visits Seoul to hold the first China-ROK defense strategic dialogue with ROK Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul and meets ROK Defense Minister Kim Kwang-jin and Chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Han Min-koo.
: Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. launch direct flight services between Seoul and Huangshan, the first international flights to the city.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and DPRK counterpart Pak Ui Chun hold talks on the sidelines of the ARF in Bali. The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for bilateral talks held on the sidelines between ROK and DPRK envoys of the Six-Party Talks Wi Sung-lac and Ri Yong-ho.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and ROK counterpart Kim Sung-hwan attend the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali on July 21, EAS Foreign Ministers Consultation on July 22, and ARF Foreign Ministers meeting on July 23, holding bilateral talks on the sidelines on July 21.
: Chung Ui-hwa, deputy speaker of the ROK National Assembly, attends the sixth China-ROK inter-parliamentary meeting in China and holds talks with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
: ROK Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin tours a Chinese Air Force base in Jiangsu province and meets PRC counterpart Liang Guanglie, Chief of the PLA General Staff Gen. Chen Bingde, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, and Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
: PRC Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang leads a delegation to North Korea to attend events marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
: Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the Presidium of the DPRK’s Supreme People’s Assembly, leads a delegation to China and attends a reception on July 10 hosted by Ji Jae Ryong, DPRK ambassador to China, and attended by PRC State Councilor Dai Binguo.
: A WPK delegation led by Thae Jong Su, alternate member of the WPK Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat, visits China and meets Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC.
: North Korea allows China’s domestic trade cargo to be shipped from northeast to east China via Rajin port.
: Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, meets Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
: A DPRK Red Cross Society delegation led by Paek Yong-ho, vice chairman of its Central Committee, arrives in Beijing to attend a meeting of Red Cross national organizations.
: A Shanghai tourist group led by Shi Quanxing, chief of the CPC branch of Shanghai Kumgang Tours Co. arrives in Pyongyang via the new Shanghai-Pyongyang air route.
: Kim Jong Il sends a congratulatory message to President Hu Jintao on the 90th anniversary of the CPC.
: China sends the first 120 government-brokered migrant workers to South Korea.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman expresses China’s opposition to any act undermining Korean Peninsula peace and stability in response to South Korean plans to conduct five-day military drills near the Demilitarized Zone.
: Chen Zhenggao, deputy secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the CPC and governor of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Government leads a delegation to North Korea and meets DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim in Pyongyang.
: A delegation of the Pyongyang City Committee of the WPK led by Ri Yong Sik, chief secretary of the Phyongchon District Committee of the WPK, arrives in China.
: Media sources report that North Korea has recently imported increased amounts of anti-riot gear from China.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry states that China and Russia have agreed to deal with the DPRK nuclear issue only within the six-party framework, following talks between Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on June 16.
: ROK media reports that China arrested 14 North Koreans in the border area in May as Beijing and Pyongyang intensified their crackdown on defectors.
: PRC and DPRK maritime authorities launch first joint patrol on the Yalu River.
: Copyright Protection Center of China and Copyright Commission of the ROK sign online copyright protection agreement at the seventh Sino-ROK Workshop on Copyright in Beijing.
: A CPC delegation led by Li Yuanchao, head of the CPC Organization Department, visits North Korea for a “strategic dialogue” with DPRK counterparts, meeting Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s National Assembly, Choe Thae Bok, chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Kim Jong Il.
: Shandong’s Qindao, Yantai, Rizhao, and Wihai Ports sign a strategic alliance with South Korea’s largest Port of Busan aimed to integrate mutual logistics cooperation.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac visits China to meet counterpart Wu Dawei.
: China and North Korea hold the second meeting of the Development Cooperation and Joint Steering Committee in Liaoning and Jilin on the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and ROK counterpart Kim Sung-hwan hold talks in Budapest ahead of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting of foreign ministers.
: PRC Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and ROK counterpart Kim Kwan-jin hold talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
: Major trade organizations of China, South Korea, and Japan call on their governments for early conclusion of trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterates China’s call for a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula issue in response to North Korea’s June 1 statement rejecting South Korea’s proposal of holding three inter-Korean summits.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for inter-Korean dialogue in response to North Korea’s May 30 statement vowing to “never deal with” South Korea’s Lee Myung-bak government.
: Eleven ROK diplomats tour Beijing, Shanghai, and Xinjiang’s Urumuchi as part of a new diplomatic exchange program between Chinese and ROK Foreign Ministries.
: President Lee, during a meeting with unification advisors at Cheong Wa Dae, positively evaluates Kim Jong Il’s frequent visits to China.
: Premier Wen Jiabao, President Lee, and Prime Minister Kan Naoto visit earthquake-stricken Fukushima and hold the fourth Trilateral China-ROK-Japan Summit in Tokyo. Wen and Lee hold bilateral talks on the sidelines.
: Kim Jong Il visits China, touring Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Jiangsu provinces before meeting President Hu Jintao in Beijing on May 25.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson cites positive signs on the Korean Peninsula and calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: President Lee Myung-bak gives credentials to new ROK Ambassador to China Lee Kyu-hyung.
: A delegation of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference (CPPCC) led by Chen Zongxing, vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, visits North Korea and meets Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
: Xinhua, Yonhap, and Kyodo agree to jointly cover the Trilateral China-ROK-Japan Summit through a single website in their first such cooperation project.
: Chinese, ROK, and Japanese counterparts hold talks on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Plus Three meeting of finance ministers in Hanoi.
: PRC nuclear envoy Wu Dawei meets ROK National Security Adviser Chun Yung-woo in Seoul.
: PRC, ROK, and Japanese environment ministers hold trilateral talks in Busan.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses support for inter-Korean and US-DPRK contact as part of the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC nuclear envoy Wu Dawei meets ROK counterpart Wi Sung-lac in Seoul and agrees on South Korea’s proposed three-step process for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterates China’s call for a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula issue.
: ROK, PRC, and Japanese trade ministers hold talks on trilateral free trade and regional economic cooperation in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake.
: Lee Kyu-hyung is appointed new South Korean ambassador to China.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for creating conditions for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: President Hu Jintao meets Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in Sanya, Hainan province on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia.
: Premier Wen Jiabao and top legislator Wu Bangguo meet ROK Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in Beijing.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry announces that Kim Kye Gwan, first vice foreign minister of the DPRK, paid a working visit to China and held separate talks with Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, Foreign Minister Yang, and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei.
: A PRC labor delegation led by Zhang Mingqi, vice president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, visits North Korea at the invitation of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea. The delegation meets Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the Central Committee of the Worker’s Party of Korea on April 12.
: The PRC Ministry of Commerce announces the lifting of anti-dumping measures against cold-rolled stainless steel sheets imported from South Korea and Japan.
: The PRC Embassy in the DPRK holds memorial ceremonies for Chinese Peoples’ Volunteers martyrs.
: South Korea, China, and Japan hold their fourth joint feasibility study meeting in Jeju, Korea on a trilateral free trade agreement.
: Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan visits China and meets Premier Wen Jiabao, Foreign Minister Yang, and Wang Jiarui, head of the party’s international department.
: The fifth China-ROK-Japan Foreign Ministers Meeting is held in Kyoto.
: PRC foreign minister on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress calls for an early restart of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson reaffirms China’s constructive role in Korean denuclearization in response to reports that China blocked the release of a UN expert panel report on the nuclear issue.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Seoul to meet President Lee Myung-bak and expresses support for inter-Korean dialogue and early resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun visits Pyongyang to meet Kim Yong Nam.
: Chinese fishermen recover a ROK fishing boat in waters off east China.
: PRC State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu visits Pyongyang and meets Kim Jong Il, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and Chief of the Korean People’s Army’s General Staff Ri Yong Ho, and Minister of People’s Security and member of the WPK Central Committee Political Bureau Ju Sang Song. PRC and DPRK security ministries sign a bilateral cooperation agreement.
: ROK Six-Party Talks Envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei in Beijing.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson expresses China’s support for proposed inter-Korean military talks.
: ROK Foreign Ministry spokesperson states that the South Korean government “positively evaluates” the Jan. 19 Obama-Hu summit.
: China-Japan-Korea Ministerial Conference on Culture is held in Nara, Japan.
: China, Japan, and South Korea issue a joint statement supporting ASEAN’s five-year tourism strategic plan after the 10th ASEAN+3 tourism ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson stresses the importance of China-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation.
: President Hu in a written interview with the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post calls for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula situation.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson refutes as “sheer fabrication” a Chosun Ilbo report on Chinese plans to dispatch troops in North Korea’s Rason city.
: Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyua in an interview with Xinhua pledges that China remains committed to playing a “constructive role” in Korean Peninsula issues.
: Vice Foreign Minister Cui affirms that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is in the interests of parties concerned in the region.
: The PRC Ministry of Public Security and ROK Supreme Prosecutor’s Office sign a memorandum of understanding on criminal law enforcement.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai at a briefing on President Hu Jintao’s upcoming trip to the US calls for the early resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Ambassador to the US Zhang Yesui in an online interview with Xinhuanet calls for the resumption of Six-Party Talks as the “optimum platform” for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
: Xinhua reports on international praise on PRC efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu expresses China’s “sincere hope and support” for inter-Korean dialogue.
: PRC Ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai hosts a reception in Pyongyang attended by DPRK Vice Premier Kang Nung Su, Rodong Sinmun Editor-in-Chief Kim Ki Ryong, and other officials.
: Hyundai Motor Co. announces that overall sales in China have reached a record high of over 700,000 vehicles.
: PRC Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping and Russian counterpart Alexei Borodavkin call for direct talks between the two Koreas in a joint statement after Moscow talks.
: China and North Korea begin renovations on their joint Shuifeng hydropower station on the Yalu border river.
: South Korean media confirm China’s release of a ROK Army major detained in July 2009 for alleged espionage related to North Korea.
: ROK Foreign Ministry spokesperson refutes criticisms that it gave in to Chinese pressure to release three Chinese fishermen on Dec. 25.
: South Korea releases three Chinese fishermen detained for suspected illegal fishing in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone on Dec. 18.
: ROK Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik calls for “heavy punishment” against illegal fishing in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
: South Korea and China launch joint land and sea transport services between Shandong cities and Incheon, Pyungtaek, and Kunsan in South Korea.
: The PRC Foreign Ministry accuses South Korea’s Coast Guard for the Dec. 18 clash with Chinese fishermen in the Yellow Sea.
: Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai at the 13th China-Australia Human Rights Talks in Beijing says “no one has the right to cause bloodshed of the people on the peninsula.”
: China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wang Min expresses “deep worries” over the Korean Peninsula situation and calls for restraint and dialogue.
: Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun says China is “deeply worried” about the Korean Peninsula situation.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in a telephone conversation with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov calls for restraint on the Korean Peninsula.
: A Chinese boat sinks after colliding with a ROK Coast Guard vessel in the Yellow Sea, leaving the Chinese captain dead and one crew member missing.
: South Korea conducts a live-fire artillery drill in waters southwest of Yeonpyeong Island.
: South Korea, China, and Japan sign an agreement in Seoul on establishing a three-way cooperation secretariat in Seoul in 2011.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu calls for restarting Six-Party Talks.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu calls for stabilizing the Korean Peninsula situation.
: Four Chinese sailors go missing and another four are rescued among international crew members on a ROK fishing vessel that sinks in the Antarctic Ocean.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu warns that military deterrence may escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula.
: State Councilor Dai Bingguo visits North Korea and meets Kim Jong Il and DPRK Vice Premier Kang Sok Ju.
: President Hu Jintao in a telephone conversation with President Barack Obama calls for resolving Korean Peninsula issues through dialogue.
: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu states that China expects US-ROK-Japan talks on Dec. 6 to ease tensions and promote dialogue on the Korean peninsula.
: China, South Korea, and China hold their 3rd joint feasibility study meeting in Weihai, China, on a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei calls for resumption of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula.
: Choe Tae Bok, chairman of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly, visits Beijing and Jilin and holds talks with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Chen Zhili, vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, in Beijing.
: Wu Dawei, PRC Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, proposes emergency consultations in early December among delegates to the Six-Party Talks.
: The US and South Korea conduct joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea.
: Foreign Minister Yang holds telephone conversations on the Korean peninsula situation with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Japanese counterpart Maehara Seiji.
: PRC State Councilor Dai Bingguo visits Seoul and meets President Lee and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.
: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei states that “China opposes any military acts in its exclusive economic zone without permission.”
: Foreign Minister Yang meets DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong and holds telephone conversations with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on the Korean peninsula situation.
: Foreign Minister Yang postpones planned Nov. 26-27 visit to South Korea.
: Premier Wen Jiabao during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow calls for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue.
: A PRC health delegation led by Health Minister Chen Zhu visits Pyongyang and meets Kim Yong Nam. The DPRK Ministry of Public Health and its PRC counterpart sign a bilateral cooperation agreement on public health and medical science.
: North Korea launches an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea.
: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei expresses China’s “concern” over the artillery exchange on Yeonpyeong Island and calls for early resumption of the Six-Party Talks.
: South Korea’s Hankook Tire announces plans to build a manufacturing plant in Chongqing worth a total investment of $954 million.
: ROK Six-Party Talks Envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing.
: A PRC economic and trade delegation led by Deputy Commerce Minister Wang Hemin visits Pyongyang for the sixth Meeting of the DPRK-China Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Economy, Trade, Science and Technology, where both sides sign a bilateral agreement on economic and trade cooperation. The Chinese delegation meets DPRK Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Ku Pon Thae and DPRK Vice Premier Kang Sok Ju.
: President Hu visits Seoul for the G20 Summit and holds bilateral talks with President Lee on the sidelines.
: China’s CPC Central Committee and Central Military Commission (CMC) send messages to North Korea’s WPK Central Committee and NDC respectively, expressing condolences over the death of Jo Myong Rok, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and first vice chairman of the NDC.
: Wang Shengjun, president of China’s Supreme People’s Court, arrives in South Korea for talks with ROK judicial officials.
: The Financial Times publishes an interview reporting that President Lee Myung-bak calls on North Korea to “emulate China’s economic model.”
: ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and PRC counterpart Yang Jiechi hold talks in Hanoi ahead of ASEAN-related summits.
: Premier Wen and President Lee attend the 17th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Hanoi, including the ASEAN+3 Summit and 5th East Asia Summit. Wen and Lee hold trilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the sidelines on Oct. 29.
: Kim Jong Il and DPRK party and military officials attend a memorial ceremony at CPV tombs in North Korea’s South Phyongan province.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu expresses hopes that South Korea and the US remain committed to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
: New DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong arrives in Beijing.
: President Hu Jintao and Vice President Xi Jinping meet CPV veterans in Beijing at a symposium commemorating the 60th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War.
: A Dandong museum releases new statistics showing that 183,108 CPV soldiers died in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
: South Korea opens its first consulate in Central China in Hubei province.
: The DPRK Embassy in Beijing holds a reception marking the 60th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War, attended by Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.
: Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), leads a senior military delegation to North Korea to attend activities marking the 60th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War.
: Korean Central News Agency praises the DPRK-China friendship in an article marking the 60th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War.
: PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu pledges to cooperate with South Korea to address illegal immigration.
: Delegation of Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) veterans visits Pyongyang and attends a reception marking the 60th anniversary of the CPV’s entry into the Korean War, attended by O Kuk Ryol, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC).
: Rodong Sinmun issues a poem praising DPRK-China friendship.
: A People’s Daily delegation led by Deputy Editor-In-Chief Ma Li visits North Korea and meets Kim Ki Nam, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the WPK Central Committee, in Pyongyang.
: Pyon In Son, vice minister of the DPRK People’s Armed Forces, leads a military delegation to Beijing and Yunan province and holds talks with Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.
: Kim Gye Gwan, first deputy foreign minister of the DPRK, arrives in China for meetings with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei.
: PRC and ROK defense ministers attend the 1st ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus 8 (ADMM+) in Hanoi.
: Ri Yong Chol, first secretary of the DPRK Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, leads a youth delegation to Beijing and Jilin province. Ri meets Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing.
: President Hu sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Il on the 65th anniversary of the founding of the WPK.
: Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee, leads a party delegation to North Korea to attend 65th anniversary celebrations of the WPK. Zhou meets Kim Jong Il and Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly.
: The DPRK Embassy in Beijing hosts a reception marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the WPK, where Vice President Xi Jinping delivers a speech.
: President Lee Myung-bak and Premier Wen Jiabao meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels.
: A Workers’ Party of Korea delegation led by Choe Tae Bok, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, visits China.
: Choe Thae Bok, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Worker’s Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, leads a party delegation to China and meets President Hu Jintao and other Communist Party of China (CPC) leaders.
: China and ROK hold the 3rd high-level diplomatic strategic dialogue in Beijing, led by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya and ROK counterpart Shin Kak-soo.
: North Korea holds the Workers’ Party of Korea Conference.
: ROK and China hold the first round of preliminary FTA meetings in Beijing.
: Rodong Sinmun reports Kim Jong-il’s pledge to strengthen China-DPRK traditional friendship.
: Rodong Sinmun hails Northeast China’s social and economic development.
: Rodong Sinmun hails the history of China-DPRK traditional friendship.
: The 2nd Forum of the DPRK-China University Presidents is held in Pyongyang, gathering 37 representatives from 14 Chinese universities and 21 representatives from 11 DPRK universities.
: Rodong Sinmun hails China-DPRK relations as entering their “Golden Ages.”
: DPRK issues souvenir stamps to mark the “60th anniversary of the entry of the Chinese People’s Volunteers into the Korean front.”
: President Hu sends a congratulatory message to Kim Jong-il on the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the DPRK.
: DPRK state media recognizes the role of Chinese volunteers in the Korean War.
: Kim Jong-il sends a message to thank President Hu for his message on the flood damage in Sinuiju.
: DPRK authorities confirm the release of four ROK and three Chinese crew members of a ROK fishing boat seized on Aug. 8.
: The DPRK State Stamp Bureau issues a new postage stamp marking the DPRK’s National Pavilion Day at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
: Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang holds a reception commemorating the 65th anniversary of World War II; DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui-hun attends.
: China’s Ministry of Transport sends two airplanes to search for missing crew members aboard a suspected Chinese fishing boat that sunk after colliding with a ROK cargo ship in the Yellow Sea.
: Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Rajin-Sonbong People’s Committee sign an economic cooperation agreement at the sixth Northeast Asia Trade Expo in Changchun.
: Crew members go missing from a suspected Chinese fishing boat that sinks in the Yellow Sea after colliding with a ROK cargo ship.
: Wu Dawei visits Seoul and meets ROK counterpart Wi Sung-lac, Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo, and Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security Kim Sung-Hwan.
: Kim Jong-il visits Northeast China and meets President Hu Jintao in Changchun.
: DPRK state media reports China will provide emergency relief aid to flood-stricken areas of North Korea.
: China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsular Affairs Wu Dawei visits North Korea and meets Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun, Director of the International Affairs Department of the WPK Central Committee Kim Yong-il, and Vice Foreign Ministers Kim Kye-gwan and Kim Song-gi.
: The DPRK navy seizes a ROK fishing boat with four ROK and three Chinese crew members for alleged trespassing into the DPRK’s exclusive economic zone.
: China’s Deputy Public Security Minister Liu Jing visits Pyongyang.
: Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai and DPRK Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Ryong Nam sign an economic and technical cooperation agreement in Pyongyang according to DPRK state media.
: The ROK Ministry of Justice announces South Korea will relax visa requirements for Chinese tourists.
: ROK Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and Chinese counterpart Zhang Ping hold bilateral talks in Seoul.
: The ROK Ministry of Knowledge Economy announces South Korean plans to invest 40 billion won ($33 million) of its national carbon fund in a biomass power generation plant in central China.
: Leading ROK steelmaker POSCO and China’s Jilin province agree to cooperate in the steel, auto, construction, and energy sectors.
: Reports show that China replaced South Korea as the world’s top shipbuilding country during the first half of 2010.
: The Korea-China Friendship Association and Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries mark the 49th anniversary of the signing of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
: China’s Ministry of Public Security reports that South Korea accounted for the biggest number of foreign tourists in China in the first half of 2010.
: South Korea and China hold working-level trade talks in Tangshan, Hebei.
: Newly elected Premier of the DPRK Cabinet Choe Yong Rim meets China’s Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai in Pyongyang.
: The DPRK’s Rodong Sinmun praises China’s disaster relief efforts in response to the flooding crisis in southern China.
: The Shenyang municipal government, Korea Chamber of Commerce, and ROK Consulate in Shenyang host the Global Korean Business Convention during Shenyang’s annual “South Korea Week” festival.
: Samsung Electronics builds its 100th elementary school in China under a project launched in 2005 to support underprivileged areas of China.
: The ROK Ministry of Knowledge Economy establishes a task force to examine the effects of the China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on ROK trade.
: A delegation of China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television visits Pyongyang and meets Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the DPRK Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
: Presidents Lee and Hu meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Toronto.
: ROK officials announce that the Foreign Ministry is seeking to expand the number of diplomatic missions in China by adding new missions in eight cities.
: The ROK Ministry of Education reports that 66,806 Koreans went to study in China in 2009, up from 57,504 in 2008.
: Two Chinese merchants are reportedly beaten to death while under investigation in North Korea for alleged spying in Jagang province.
: South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor announces completion of its second plant in China in partnership with Wuxi Taiji Industry.
: The Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang announces China and North Korea will jointly produce a film marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
: A government delegation led by Jilin Vice Governor Chen Weigen visits Pyongyang and meets new Vice Premier Ri Thae Nam.
: The ROK Ministry of Public Administration and Security announces that government websites of the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Culture and Information Service were attacked by hackers traced to China.
: A WPK delegation led by Kim Chang Ryong, DPRK minister of Land and Environment Protection, visits Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, and Shenyang. The DPRK delegation meets senior party officials on June 21 in Beijing, including Li Yuanchao and Wang Jiarui.
: Premier Wen meets South Korean children visiting Beijing for a friendship exchange with Chinese counterparts.
: Liaoning provincial government issues a statement demanding the DPRK should “severely punish” its border guards involved in the June 4 border shooting.
: The ROK Ministry of Public Administration and Security announces that South Korea’s government website was attacked by hackers traced to China.
: China complains by raising “a solemn representation” with the DPRK regarding the killing of Chinese nationals on June 4.
: Rodong Sinmun vows to strengthen China-DPRK friendship.
: South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister and top diplomat on UN affairs Chun Yung-woo visits Beijing to meet Chinese counterpart Cui Tiankai.
: DPRK border guards shoot dead three Chinese nationals and wound another suspected of illegally crossing the China-DPRK border for trade activities.
: Premier Wen in an interview with NHK affirms China’s “impartial” position on the Cheonan sinking.
: North Korea issues a collection of stamps commemorating Kim Jong-il’s May visit to China.
: The ROK Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announces South Korea and China have agreed to crack down on illegal Chinese fishing along the inter-Korean Northern Limit Line.
: President Lee, Premier Wen, and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio hold the third trilateral summit in Jeju, Korea.
: South Korea and China agree to establish consular offices in Dalian and Jeju.
: Premier Wen Jiabao visits Seoul and meets President Lee, National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, and Prime Minister Chung Un-chan.
: Wang Min, CPC official of Liaoning province visits North Korea for economic talks with Kim Pyong-hae, WPK official of South Pyongan province.
: China’s Tianyu Group, the ROK Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Lippo Incheon Development Co. Ltd., and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency sign a $1 billion deal to build a foreign residential area near Incheon International Airport.
: Japan, China, and South Korea trade ministers meet in Seoul to discuss regional economic cooperation.
: Environment ministers of China, Japan and South Korea adopt an action plan for the first time to battle global warming, yellow dust, and other issues in the coming five years.
: Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai convenes a meeting in Pyongyang of representatives of 14 Chinese entities investing in North Korea.
: The chief of North Korea’s Rajin port visits the Chinese port city of Hunchun and holds talks with the city’s mayor.
: Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi and Yu Myung-hwan hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the fourth China-ROK-Japan foreign ministers meeting in Gyeongju.
: Korean Central News Agency reports on Kim Jong-il’s summit with President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
: The ROK Ministry of Knowledge Economy announces the establishment of a new “China Desk” at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
: China, South Korea, and Japan begin their first round of consultations on a free trade agreement (FTA) research in Seoul.
: Chinese and ROK maritime officials meet in Hangzhou and agree to strengthen information-sharing for search and rescue efforts.
: Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Zhang Xinsen pays a courtesy call to ROK Unification Minister Hyun In-taek.
: DPRK’s national theater troupe Phibada Opera Troupe begins its China tour to perform a remake of the Chinese opera A Dream of Red Mansions.
: Kim Jong-il pays an unofficial visit to China and meets President Hu in Beijing.
: Guan Youfei, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the PRC Ministry of National Defense, leads a delegation of relatives of Chinese martyrs killed in the Korean War in a visit to North Korea.
: President Lee Myung-bak visits China and meets President Hu in Shanghai before attending the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Expo on April 30.
: DPRK legislator Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, visits China. He attends the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo and meets Chinese leaders including Hu Jintao on April 30.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo and Chinese counterpart Wang Guangya hold the second High-level Strategic Dialogue in Seoul.
: Kim Jong-il hosts a dinner reception in Pyongyang for Ambassador Liu Hongcai, Chinese Embassy diplomats, and the visiting Tianjin women’s volleyball team.
: Senior DPRK lawmaker Yang Hyong-sop pledges to develop ties with China at a reception held by new Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai in Pyongyang.
: New Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Zhang Xinsen arrives in Seoul.
: An Yonggi, director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the DPRK Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, visits China and meets Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission in Beijing.
: Samsung Electronics and Chinese retailer Suning Appliance Co. agree to sell $1.46 billion worth of Samsung’s products in 2010 to boost its presence in China.
: ROK Grand National Party Chairman Chung Mong-joon meets Wang Jiarui and Vice Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing and agrees to strengthen ruling party ties.
: ROK Ambassador to China Yu Woo-ik meets Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Beijing.
: Northeast China’s Liaoning Province begins construction on the Shenyang-Dandong and Dandong-Dalian railways near the DPRK border.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan visits China and meets Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
: Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai meets Premier Kim Yong-il and Vice Premier Ro Tu-chol in Pyongyang.
: New Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai arrives in Pyongyang and presents his credentials to Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly, on March 8.
: The ROK Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announces an agreement with China to enhance bilateral cooperation on aviation safety.
: China’s National Tourism Association designates North Korea as an approved destination for Chinese tour groups.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac visits Beijing and meets Wu Dawei.
: Kim Yong-il, director of the International Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee leads a delegation to Beijing and meets President Hu and Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
: Qiu Yanpeng, commander of the Chinese naval escort flotilla in the Gulf of Aden, visits ROK destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sunshin and meets Capt. Kim Myung Sung, commander of the ROK naval escort flotilla.
: Former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei is appointed special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs. He meets DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan in Beijing.
: Visit China Year 2010 is officially launched in Seoul.
: Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, leads a delegation to North Korea. He meets Kim Yong-il, director of the International Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, on Feb. 7. He meets Kim Jong-il on Feb. 8 and delivers a letter from President Hu Jintao, and holds talks with Choe Thae Bok, Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee.
: Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, awards a friendship medal to outgoing Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce announces temporary antidumping measures on terephthalic acid imports from Thailand and South Korea.
: Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Sasae Kenichiro, and ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon hold their 4th round of consultations in Beijing.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce announces it would extend anti-dumping measures on phenol imports from Japan, South Korea, the US, and Taiwan.
: China, South Korea, and Japan hold a preliminary meeting on joint research on a trilateral free trade pact.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation in Seoul.
: North Korea and the municipal government of Tumen City reportedly agree to repair the railway link between Tumen and Chongjin port.
: A South Korean report reveals China has expanded its mining rights in North Korea to cover as many as 20 sites.
: London-based Clarkson PLC shows China has overtaken South Korea as the world’s biggest shipbuilder.
: The ROK food safety agency recalls fake frozen Pollock entrails from China.
: South Korea’s Eastar Jet Co. announces it will begin flight services to Shanghai and Shenyang from late April 2010.
: Presidents Hu Jintao and Lee Myung-bak exchange New Year greetings.
: Kim Jong-il sends a congratulatory letter to President Hu on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
: Hyundai Steel Co. signs a deal with China National Minerals Co. to buy 150,000 tons of coal annually for three years.
: Foreign ministers of ROK, China, and Japan hold their annual trilateral ministerial meeting in Shanghai. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and ROK counterpart Yu Myung Hwan hold bilateral talks on Sept. 29.
: Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group) agree to cooperate in overseas oil exploration, production, and trading.
: Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Hu Jintao hold a summit in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
: Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. announces its 44 billion won ($36.8 million) plan to construct a rubber accelerator plant in China by 2011.
: Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, meets Kil Chol-hyok, secretary of the DPRK Central Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, in Beijing.
: A DPRK military delegation led by Pak Jae Gyong, vice minister of the People’s Armed Forces, visits China and meets Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.
: A Chinese media delegation led by Zhang Yannong, president of People’s Daily, visits Pyongyang and meets Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly.
: South Korea’s Boryung Pharmaceutical Co. seeks a permit for the domestic sale of Chinese-made flu vaccine.
: A Chinese delegation led by State Councilor Dai Bingguo visits Pyongyang and meets top legislator Kim Yong-nam and Vice Foreign Ministers Kang Sok-ju and Kim Yong-il. Dai delivers a letter from President Hu to Kim Jong-il.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. announces it will cancel 80 percent of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. shares and convert 393 billion won ($321.5 million) in debt into new shares as part of a turnaround plan.
: Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co. completes construction of its polypropylene plant in southern China, the company’s first overseas plant.
: Chinese police report a 2003 discovery of the bodies of 56 North Koreans attempting to flee to China in the Yalu River.
: POSCO announces plans to build its 16th automotive steel processing plant in China in Shenyang.
: Doosan Infracore Co. and Xuzhou Construction Machinery, South Korea and China’s biggest construction equipment makers, respectively, agree to establish an RMB680 million ($100 million) joint venture in diesel engine.
: South Korea’s Hana Bank announces plans to invest in an 18.44 percent stake worth $316 million in the Bank of Jilin in northeast China.
: ROK Vice Culture Minister Shin Jae-min and Chinese and Japanese counterparts at a joint forum in Busan agree to strengthen cultural industry cooperation.
: A DPRK delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il visits China and meets Chinese Foreign Ministry officials.
: South Korea’s biggest wire and cable maker LS Cable ltd. acquires a 75.14 percent stake in China’s Hubei Yongding Hongqi Electronics Co.
: North Korea opens a consular branch in the Chinese border town of Dandong.
: Former Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan attends former ROK President Kim Dae-jung’s funeral in Seoul.
: He Yong, deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, visits Seoul and meets Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, floor leader of the Grand National Party, National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, and Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.
: President Hu sends a condolence message to President Lee over the death of former President Kim Dae-Jung.
: A Chinese delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei visits North Korea and meets DPRK officials including Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Park Ui Chun, minister of Foreign Affairs, and Kim Kye Gwan, vice minister of Foreign Affairs.
: The U.A.E. reports to the UNSC the seizure of North Korean arms shipments to Iran which were reportedly carried on Chinese and Australian vessels.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. resumes operations after an 83-day production halt.
: Korea Central News Agency reports Kim Jong-il’s vow to strengthen “long-standing precious DPRK-China friendship.”
: Four South Koreans are indicted for trying to sell air-conditioning information to China worth 120 billion won ($97.6 million) in potential losses for LG Electronics.
: A Communist Party of China delegation makes a goodwill visit to Pyongyang and meets Worker’s Party of Korea counterparts.
: A Chinese investment company developing a copper mine in North Korea with a DPRK company sanctioned under UNSC resolutions pulls out of the joint project.
: Chinese Customs authorities seize North Korea-bound vanadium, a strategic metal used to strengthen steel.
: Heads of the central banks of China, South Korea, and Japan hold their first regular meeting in Shenzhen, China.
: Korea Exchange Bank is approved by China’s financial regulator to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in China.
: South Korea’s LG Chem and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) establish a joint venture plant in China.
: ROK Ministry of Justice eases visa application procedures for Chinese tourists.
: ROK National Assembly deputy speaker Lee Yoon-seong meets Wu Bangguo, chairman of the PRC National People’s Congress Standing Committee, in Beijing for the fourth ROK-PRC parliamentary exchange meeting.
: The Pyongyang Student Art Troupe tours China to celebrate the Year of DPRK-China Friendship.
: Chosun Ilbo reports that over 500 China-made vehicles suspected of being intended for military use were shipped into North Korea over the past month.
: South Korea and China ratify a treaty allowing convicts to serve prison sentences in their home country, to come into force Aug. 5.
: North Korea launches seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.
: South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical Corp. begins constructing its $380 million polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Ningbo, China.
: South Korea’s POSCO agrees to invest 220 billion won ($174 million) in a 65 percent joint venture ferromanganese plant with China’s Dongbu Metal Co.
: North Korea launches four short-range cruise missiles off its east coast.
: Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei makes a four-nation trip on DPRK denuclearization. He meets ROK counterpart Wi Sung-lac and Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek in Seoul on July 13 and Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak on July 14.
: China lifts 10-year antidumping duties on South Korean newsprint papers.
: ROK Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Youn-ho holds talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming in Seoul.
: The Korea Trade Commission penalizes NSC Korea Co. for mislabeling China-made ball bearing exports to Turkey as made in South Korea.
: The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announce plans to launch an annual inspection of fish farms and seafood factories in China.
: Over 100 Korean firms in IT, automobiles, energy, and consumer goods showcase their products at “Korean Products Show 2009, Beijing.”
: The 14th DPRK-China talks on oceanic science and technology cooperation is held in Pyongyang and produces a two-year plan for monitoring Yellow Sea weather.
: The Chinese Foreign Ministry denies unconfirmed Japanese media reports that Kim Jong-il’s son Kim Jong-un met President Hu and other leaders in Beijing on June 10.
: The China-South Korea-Japan 11th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting is held in Beijing.
: The UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 1874 which calls on UN members to inspect cargo vessels and airplanes suspected of carrying military materials in or out of North Korea.
: Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua at a business forum in Seoul calls for an early conclusion of the China-ROK free trade agreement.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing.
: Korea attends the first non-traditional security forum of the armed forces of ASEAN Plus 3 at the Shijiazhuang PLA Army Command College hosted by the PRC Ministry of National Defense.
: The five subsidiaries of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) agree to jointly buy coal from China in a bid to cut costs.
: ROK Defense Minister Lee Sang Hee meets counterpart Liang Guanglie and Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi meet on the sidelines of the ASEM foreign ministers meeting in Hanoi.
: The ROK Ministry of Knowledge and Economy announces a government support plan to help Korea firms expand Chinese market share in high-end goods.
: An annual ROK Air Force publication reports that the Chinese military attempted to hack into the South Korean embassy computer system in the U.S. in 2008.
: The first China-DPRK sister cities’ meeting is held in Pyongyang.
: Chinese and DPRK trade officials pledge to strengthen trade cooperation at the 12th Pyongyang International Trade Fair.
: A Chinese delegation led by Wu Donghe, chairman of China-DPRK Friendship Association meets senior officials in Pyongyang.
: The 43rd Joint Committee Meeting for China-DPRK Scientific and Technological Cooperation is held in Pyongyang.
: Former ROK President Kim Dae-jung makes a 5-day trip to China to discuss Korean Peninsula and regional issues.
: The DPRK Education Ministry and Chinese embassy in Pyongyang hold China Youth Day celebrations at Kim Il Sung University.
: Jilin’s Tumen City government and the DPRK Hamgyong Provincial Tourism Bureau in Chongjin City agree to open a railway tourism line.
: Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese finance ministers agree to provide 80 percent of the $120 billion Chiang Mai Initiative liquidity fund.
: A Chinese criminal ring that swindled 360 million won ($270,000) out of 15 South Koreans through phone-based financial scams is arrested in Gangneung.
: Head of China’s Atomic Energy Authority Wang Yiren denies any cooperation with North Korea on nuclear energy development.
: South Korean Navy participates in the multilateral fleet review and 60th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Chinese PLA Navy in Qingdao.
: The ROK Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says it will destroy 161 tons of contaminated Chinese beef stock.
: The UNSC issues a President’s Statement condemning North Korea’s April 5 missile test. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China opposes the UN adopting any new resolution and sanction against the DPRK.
: Chinese affiliates of South Korea’s STX Group secure 2.85 billion RMB ($417 million) in loans to fund construction of its shipbuilding complex in Dalian.
: Chinese UN envoy Zhang Yesui calls for a “cautious and proportionate” UN Security Council (UNSC) response to North Korea’s April 5 launch.
: Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Li Jinhua leads a delegation to Pyongyang and meets DPRK top legislator Kim Yong Nam.
: Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo meet in Tianjin and agree to expand Seoul-Tianjin cultural, tourism, and economic exchanges.
: President Hu sends a message to Chairman Kim Jong-il congratulating him on his re-election as chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission.
: President Lee meets Premier Wen and Japanese Prime Minister Aso on the sidelines of the canceled ASEAN summit in Thailand to discuss North Korea’s missile launch.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan discusses North Korea’s launch with Chinese and Japanese counterparts in Seoul.
: South Korean officials say China-based hackers attacked the ROK Finance Ministry intranet in February.
: ROK quarantine authorities discover a banned substance in Chinese beef stock.
: President Lee meets a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegation led by Li Changchun, chief of the CCP Propaganda and Cultural Affairs Bureau, in Seoul and calls for Chinese support in dealing with North Korea’s April 5 missile launch.
: North Korea launches what it describes as a satellite.
: North Korea launches a long-range ballistic missile.
: Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in London and express concern over North Korea’s planned missile/satellite launch.
: Seoul’s Sejong Center for the Performing Arts stages China’s “Butterflies” in the first major exchange of plays since the establishment of cultural ties in 1992.
: Ssangyong union workers announce plans to sue SAIC for mismanagement, seeking compensation for damages and cancellation of SAIC’s 51 percent stake.
: PLA Chief of Staff Chen Bingde meets ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-Young and tours military bases in South Korea.
: Pyongyang declares it will launch a satellite between April 4 and 8.
: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s planned satellite launch and stalled Six-Party Talks.
: High-level officials from China, Russia, South Korea, and Mongolia attend the 10th Consultative Commission Meeting of the Greater Tumen Initiative in Ulaanbaatar to further regional cooperation on Tumen development.
: A Bank of Korea official announces the central bank is in talks with its Chinese counterpart to convert part of a 38 trillion won ($27.2 billion) currency deal into dollars.
: The Ministry of Knowledge and Economy says it will expand export insurance for shipments to China to 20 trillion won ($14 billion), a 30 percent increase from 2008.
: North Korean officials arrest two U.S. journalists on the Sino-North Korean border for “illegally intruding” into DPRK territory.
: DPRK Premier Kim Yong-il makes a five-day visit to China where he tours Shandong Province and meets senior officials in Beijing including Premier Wen Jiabao, NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Banguo, and President Hu Jintao.
: The Ministry of Knowledge Economy reports that Hong Kong has replaced China as South Korea’s largest overseas market in terms of trade surplus ($2 billion).
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at China’s annual parliamentary session calls for enhanced China-Japan-ROK cooperation on the financial crisis and says FTA negotiations with ROK should begin as early as possible.
: Ssangyong says sales dropped 69.4 percent in February, with domestic sales plunging 51.5 percent and exports 82.7 percent.
: Air purifier sales in South Korea jump in sales with forecasts of especially severe “yellow dust” from China this spring.
: DPRK state media reports that China has repeated its invitation to Kim Jong-il to visit Beijing for a summit with President Hu Jintao.
: Pyongyang announces it is preparing to launch a communications satellite.
: ROK agriculture officials report that South Korea imported a record $112.7 million worth of kimchi in 2008, mostly accounted for by Chinese imports that reached 13.5 percent of local consumption.
: ROK Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun and Chinese counterpart Xie Xueren meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus 3 special meeting of finance ministers. ASEAN Plus 3 finance chiefs agree to expand their regional currency swap fund from $80 billion to $120 billion to cope with the financial crisis.
: Ssangyong says it will downsize business operations and cut executive wages by up to 54 percent in a bid to meet procedures for court receivership.
: Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang to express concern over activity at North Korea’s primary missile launching facility.
: Ssangyong announces plans to revamp its assembly lines.
: A local supplier for Ssangyong collapses due to the automaker’s deteriorating financial situation, putting at risk 200 more vendors.
: Ssangyong wins court approval for bankruptcy protection.
: DPRK media says China has decided to give “free aid” to North Korea.
: Ssangyong reveals that its auto sales dropped 82 percent in January.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets senior officials in Beijing including Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and Premier Wen Jiabao.
: Hyundai and Kia report a record number of car sales in China in January.
: The ROK government announces it will discontinue support for parts suppliers of Ssangyong in face of worsening economic conditions.
: The ROK government says it will ban imports of dried persimmon from China after the discovery of a harmful parasite in the product.
: President Obama calls President Hu to reaffirm his pledge to denuclearize North Korea through Six-Party Talks.
: Chinese petrochemical makers accuse South Korean firms of dumping.
: Chinese party official Wang Jiarui visits Pyongyang and meets high-level DPRK officials. He delivers a letter to Kim Jong-il from President Hu Jintao on the occasion of Lunar New Year.
: ROK Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announces that South Korea and China have agreed to shuttle flights linking Seoul’s Gimpo Airport and Beijing’s Capital International Airport.
: North Korea holds a New Year reception for Chinese diplomats in Pyongyang.
: About 150 direct suppliers to Ssangyong plead with creditors and the ROK government to provide financial assistance.
: Ssangyong suspends production at its sole plant in Pyeongtaek.
: Family members urge Seoul to press Beijing for the release of South Korean abductee who escaped North Korea in May 2008 after three decades in captivity.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry hosts gatherings with North Korean diplomats in Beijing.
: The Seoul Central District Court grants receivership to Ssangyong. Union workers say they are prepared to negotiate a turnaround plan.
: The North Korean consulate general in Shenyang opens its branch office in Dandong city bordering North Korea.
: China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue visits Pyongyang to discuss 60th anniversary-related exchanges.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. files for court protection from creditors. The board reconvenes in Shanghai to finalize restructuring plans.
: A Chinese Foreign Ministry delegation visits Pyongyang for 60th anniversary celebrations of China-DPRK diplomatic relations.
: The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention heightens bird flu warnings after a teenager in Beijing is suspected of dying from the virus on Jan. 6.
: ROK Unification Ministry says the current slowdown in North Korean defectors to South Korea is partly due to tightened border controls in China.
: SAIC injects $45 million into Ssangyong and resumes negotiations with Korea Development Bank over a possible restructuring plan.
: ROK Ministry of Strategy and Finance says South Korea will implement anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese polyester yarn for the next three years.
: Hu Jintao and Kim Jong-il exchange New Year messages and pledge closer China-DPRK ties.
: The second China-Korea-Japan Cultural Ministerial Meeting is held on Jeju Island, Korea. Chinese Culture Minister Cai Wu and Korean counterpart Yu In-chon agree to strengthen Sino-Korean cooperation in the online gaming industry.
Dec. 24, 2008: Myanmar signs a deal with South Korea’s Daewoo and Korea Gas Corporation and Indian energy firms to supply gas to China National United Oil Corporation.
Dec. 26, 2008: The Korea Food and Drug Administration reveals that South Korea sold 1,356 tons of melamine-tainted Chinese snacks in 2008.
Dec. 29, 2008: Ssangyong Motor Company and SAIC Motor Corporation announce that they are seeking financial assistance from the ROK government and banks.
Dec. 30, 2008: Ssangyong’s labor union warns it will sue SAIC for illegal technology transfer and carry out a full-fledged strike if SAIC fails to further investment.
Dec. 24, 2008: Myanmar signs a deal with South Korea’s Daewoo and Korea Gas Corporation and Indian energy firms to supply gas to China National United Oil Corporation.
Dec. 26, 2008: The Korea Food and Drug Administration reveals that South Korea sold 1,356 tons of melamine-tainted Chinese snacks in 2008.
Dec. 29, 2008: Ssangyong Motor Company and SAIC Motor Corporation announce that they are seeking financial assistance from the ROK government and banks.
Dec. 30, 2008: Ssangyong’s labor union warns it will sue SAIC for illegal technology transfer and carry out a full-fledged strike if SAIC fails to further investment.
: Ssangyong chief executive warns that its Chinese partner will pull out if its labor union resists a restructuring plan.
: South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong meets Chinese top leaders in Beijing to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program and inter-Korean relations.
: South Korea establishes melamine content standards for food in response to the Chinese food safety scare.
: Defense Minister Liang Guanglie meets Korea National Defense University President Bang Hyo Bok in Beijing.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao suggests that China will continue energy aid to North Korea despite the stalled Six-Party Talks.
: Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., says it has halted operations at all its plants for 10 working days.
: President Lee, Premier Wen, and Prime Minister Aso Taro hold the inaugural Korea-China-Japan summit in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan.
: The Bank of Korea finalizes a $26 billion won-yuan swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China.
: Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie meets Yon Kyong Chol, DPRK deputy director general of the Military Foreign Affairs Division of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, in Beijing.
: Incheon District Court sentences to jail the captain and crewmen of a Chinese fishing boat for assaulting Korean Coast Guard officers on Oct. 7.
: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya and South Korean counterpart Kwon Jong-rak hold the first China-ROK strategic dialogue in Beijing.
: Korean, Chinese, and Japanese Central Banks launch the Tripartite Governors’ Meeting to be regularized next year to promote regional financial stability.
: The ROK Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries strengthens quarantine inspections at airports and harbors in response to bird flu outbreaks in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
: Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, announces that South Korea will open a Consulate in the city.
: A new round of Six-Party Talks is held in Beijing.
: North Korean media reports Kim Jong-il’s visit to factories in Sinuiju city bordering China.
: China and South Korea open naval and air military hotlines after a bilateral defense policy meeting in Beijing.
: The 55th anniversary of the DPRK-China Cooperation Accord on Economy and Culture is held in Pyongyang.
: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei meets Ri Gun, director general of the DPRK Foreign Ministry’s American Affairs Bureau, in Beijing ahead of the Six-Party Talks.
: U.S. officials say the Chinese government has largely rebuffed U.S. attempts to discuss North Korea contingency planning.
: South Korea’s second largest tire maker Kumho Tire Co. begins production at its new $100 million plant in Nanjing.
: South Korean quarantine authorities detect a banned antibiotic in cooked duck meat from China.
: ROK Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Dong-soo says South Korea and China have agreed in principle to expand their currency swap deal.
: The second Tripartite Health Ministers Meeting is held in Beijing where China, South Korea, and Japan sign an action plan to fight pandemic influenza. China and Korea agree to strengthen bilateral cooperation on food safety.
: China’s Ministry of Water Resources and DPRK counterpart in a meeting in Pyongyang agree to enhance cooperation on water resources management.
: The Korea Food and Drug Administration finds melamine in a Chinese jelly product used to make locally sold sweets.
: Former ROK President Kim Dae-jung visits northeast China and delivers a speech at a conference hosted by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and the Liaoning provincial government.
: In commemoration of the entry of the Chinese volunteers into the Korean War, Chinese People’s Liberation Army art troupe performs a modern dance drama on China’s civil revolutionary war at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater and meets legislator Kim Yong Nam.
: Chinese Minister of Finance Xie Xuren and ROK Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-Soo meet in Beijing.
: President Lee Myung-bak visits Beijing for the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting.
: South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry says it found melamine in five egg-based imports from China.
: South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries finds two cases of melamine-contaminated Chinese feed additives while health authorities announce plans to check all kidney beans from China for excess pesticides.
: The 4th annual meeting of the China-DPRK Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee is held in Pyongyang.
: China denies South Korean claims that Chinese and North Korean hackers stole more than 130,000 pieces of ROK government information in the past four years.
: South Korean lawmaker Choi Kyung-hwan says in a parliamentary report that 63.6 percent of the 644.5 billion won worth of illegal food imports over the past five years has come from China.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang says China supports continued U.S.-DPRK contact for pushing forward the Six-Party Talks.
: A Chinese captain and crewmen illegally fishing in South Korean waters off the west coast assault South Korean Coast Guard officers.
: The Korea Food and Drug Administration says it has found harmful chemicals including melamine in 10 Chinese dairy products.
: The Korea Food and Drug Administration expands its recall of snack products imported from China to include Ritz Bits Cracker Sandwiches Cheese and “gosohan ssalgwaja” (tasty rice snack) based on additional tests that revealed the presence of higher than normal concentrations of the chemical melamine.
: The Korean Coast Guard detains 11 Chinese fishermen who, while engaged in illegal fishing in Korean waters, allegedly killed a patrolling coast guard officer.
: The Korea Food and Drug Administration orders a recall of all biscuit products of two snack companies and bans Chinese-made food products containing powdered milk after finding that the products contained melamine.
: China seeks agreement to appoint the PRC Ambassador to Malaysia Cheng Yonghua as its new ambassador to the ROK.
: South Korea’s National Police Agency requests South Korean mobile phone providers to have sender’s numbers displayed on the receiving device to counter voice phishing calls, which primarily originate from China.
: Elliana Soleil Snyder is born.
: South Korea’s Food and Drug Administration announces that it will begin inspections of butter imported from China in response to public concern over a scandal involving dairy products made in China.
: Kangnam district in Seoul announces the reintroduction of a primary school curriculum that will require students to learn 900 Chinese characters prior to graduation.
: South Korea’s Navy announces that the Chinese destroyer Harbin will take part in an international fleet review to be held in Busan in October.
: Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reports that China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to set up a nuclear energy hotline to quickly inform neighboring countries in the event of a nuclear power plant accident.
: The Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office announces the indictment of two executives of flat-panel display maker BOE-Hydis for passing key technology to a Chinese firm.
: Yin You Can is cast as the lead actress in the production of a South Korean musical, “Failan.”
: LG Electronics announces that it is considering selling equipment from its oldest plasma panel manufacturing line to China’s Sichuan Changhong Electric Company.
: North Korean defectors in Seoul stage a rally to protest China’s repatriation of North Korean refugees on the occasion of President Hu’s arrival in South Korea.
: South Korea files a formal protest over China’s use of the name “Sea of Japan” on a map displayed at the Beijing Olympic Games closing ceremonies.
: Hu Jintao makes his second visit to Seoul as president of the PRC.
: The Chinese Oceanic Information Network deletes its territorial claim over the disputed rock that lies between China and South Korea to show that it is contested territory.
: A Korea Times-Hankook Ilbo poll shows that 50.2 percent of respondents chose China as the country likely to have the biggest impact on South Korea, followed by the U.S. at 39.8 percent and Japan with 6.7 percent.
: The Chinese Oceanic Information Network claims that a disputed rock (Ieodo in Korean, or Suyanjiao in Chinese) is Chinese territory.
: China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits South Korea and meets his counterpart Yu Myung-hwan to discuss President Hu’s visit.
: President Lee visits China to attend the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony and to hold a bilateral meeting with President Hu Jintao.
: DPRK President Kim Young Nam visits China to attend the Beijing Olympic Games and meets senior Chinese officials including President Hu Jintao.
: The Korea Cosmetic Association announces that out of a total of $304 million in cosmetic exports from Korea, $157 million were sold in “greater China,” including China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
: South Korean broadcaster SBS airs a two-minute clip that had been secretly recorded from a rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic Games, stimulating sharp criticism in China.
: The Red Cross Society of China recognizes LG, Samsung, and SK for their contributions to help victims of the Sichuan earthquake in May.
: The Korea Electric Power Corporation announces that it will build wind-power facilities worth $150 million in Neimeng and Gansu provinces in China.
: President Lee Myung-bak meets President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Toyako, Japan.
: South Korean biotech company RNL Bio Ltd. and Tiantan Puhua Hospital in Beijing announce a collaboration to commercialize stem cell technology and research.
: Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. announces the completion of construction of a petrochemical plant in Nanjing, China.
: North Korea hands over its long-overdue nuclear declaration to China.
: A prisoner of war (POW), Kim Jin-soo, who fought in the Korean War, escapes from North Korea 55 years after being captured.
: DPRK National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il is invited to attend the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games during a meeting in Pyongyang with PRC Vice President Xi Jinping.
: Lotte Mart opens stores in Beijing claiming to be the first Korean retailer to officially operate in Chinese capital
: South Korea, China, and Japan agree to regularize the foreign ministerial meeting as part of their efforts to systemize three-way cooperation. The ministers also agree to pursue three-way summit talks this September in Japan.
: Financial Services Commission Chairman Jun Kwang-woo calls on more Chinese firms to go public in the Seoul bourse.
: Busan police announce the arrest 10 people for arranging sham international marriage. Separately, Gangwon provincial police arrest 6 brokers and charge 188 others, including 33 Chinese, one South African and one Vietnamese.
: South Korea and China sign a memorandum to recognize courses academic transcripts to promote student exchange.
: During a visit to China, President Lee Myung-bak and President Hu Jintao agree to forge a “strategic cooperative partnership” between the two countries. Lee meets other top members of China’s leadership and business community, including Wen Jiabao.
: Korea Electric Power Corp. announces that it will sign a contract to acquire 14 Chinese thermal power plants including four plants being built by the Korean firm.
: North Korean and Chinese militaries are reported to have boosted border patrols to stem the outflow of North Korean refugees in advance of the Olympics Games.
: Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Ning Fukui expresses his appreciation for the government’s support and aid in response to the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province.
: South Korea announces that it will provide earthquake-hit China with emergency funds and aid materials worth $1 million,
: ROK chief nuclear envoy Kim Sook consults in Beijing with Chinese counterpart on the resumption of Six-Party Talks and North Korea’s anticipated declaration of its nuclear programs.
: “D-War,” a science-fiction film directed by former comedian Shim Hyung-rae, is released in China at more than 500 theaters in about 100 cities.
: Supreme Prosecutor’s Office announces that between June 2006 and March 2008, authorities arrested 3,460 people including 558 Chinese for voice phishing and other internet-based crimes.
: Samsung Electronics Co. announces that it has recorded its highest ever market share for sales of Chinese mobile telephones.
: A Korean court rejects the application for an arrest warrant for a Chinese student accused of assaulting a 49-year-old Korean man during the Olympic torch relay in Seoul.
: Civic groups request police investigate the Chinese ambassador to South Korea on charges of abetting student violence during the Olympic torch relay.
: South Korea’s National Cyber Security Center reports that hacker attacks on computer networks of major state institutions exceeded an average of 2 million per day in March.
: South Korea expresses “strong regret” and announces that it will take a stern measure against Chinese demonstrators who wielded bamboo sticks and hurled stones at anti-Chinese activists and riot police during the Beijing Olympic torch relay.
: China-based hackers are reported to have invaded Internet Auction’s server and stolen personal information of 11 million of the company’s 18 million subscribers.
: Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung asserts during a speech in the U.S. that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il fears possible subordination of its economy to China.
: Hyundai Mobis Co., an affiliate of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and South Korea’s largest auto parts maker, completes a new transmission testing center in Beijing.
: President Lee Myung-bak designates career diplomat Shin Jung-seung ambassador to the PRC.
: Seoul metropolitan government officials fail to approve the PRC Embassy’s architectural plan to rebuild its compound in Myeong-dong, central Seoul.
: The Export-Import Bank of Korea releases a study showing that it takes about three years for Korean companies operating in China to generate a net profit.
: Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. opens its second plant in Beijing in a ceremony attended by 600 dignitaries, including Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-koo and Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong.
: LG Display announces plans to set up a research and development (R&D) center in Shenzhen, China, with Skyworth Digital Holdings, a Chinese TV set manufacturer.
: ROK Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Eun-ki begins trip to Russia, China, and Japan for talks with counterparts on bilateral ties.
: Korea Fund Ratings reports that Chinese equity funds have lost W12 trillion over the past five months. Korean investors represented 32 percent of total funds invested from overseas, according to Meritz Securities.
: Ma Ying-jeou is elected president of the Republic of China on a platform that stresses economic performance pledges similar to those of President Lee.
: Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan makes his first visit as foreign minister to China to plan for a likely May state visit by President Lee to Beijing.
: South Korea’s Business Institute of Sustainable Development announces that W5.5 trillion ($5.5 billion) in lost productivity occurred in 2007 as a result of “yellow dust” from China.
: Korean producers of the film “Crossing,” which is based on the story of North Korean refugees who escape to China, hold a press conference in Seoul.
: The Korean Consumer Agency reports that over 10 different cases of spoiled food products from China have gone unreported in the Korean media.
: Korea Development Institute releases a report describing the transition of China from a production base to an export market for Korean manufacturing products.
: Korea, China, and Japan hold a fourth round of talks on a trilateral investment agreement.
: South Korea announces that the China has agreed to cooperate to recover the remains of An Jung-geun, the Korean independence fighter who assassinated Japan’s first Resident General Ito Hirobumi in China in 1909. An was executed in China be Japanese military officials at Ryojun prison.
: Prosecutors announce the arrest and indictment of a former LG Electronics engineer for industrial espionage by stealing and leaking flat-screen TV technology to a Chinese competitor.
: Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) announces that it has signed a $15.5 million contract with Guangdong Power Engineering Corporation to export nuclear technology through 2013 for reactors at Yangjian, Guangdong Province, which are based on the Korean Uljin plants.
: President Lee names former South Korean Ambassador to China Kim Ha-joong as his first minister of unification.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has “cordial and friendly talks” during a visit to the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming.
: Lee Myung-bak inaugurated as new South Korean president; meets with Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy announces that the government has decided to implement measures to support South Korean investors in China that are planning to withdraw from the country.
: Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade Senior Research Fellow Kim Do-hoon says that Hong Kong and China are likely to be South Korea’s best FTA partners based on his study of the effects on local industry.
: China hosts a bilateral meeting between Six-Party Talks negotiators Christopher Hill and Kim Kye-gwan to discuss issues preventing North Korea from providing a declaration of nuclear-related facilities, programs, and materials as pledged under the Oct. 4 and Feb. 13, 2007 six-party agreements.
: Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Ning Fukui says Chinese-South Korean relations are “at a new starting point” in an interview at his office in Seoul.
: Senior Chinese Communist Party official Wang Jiarui meets Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang to discuss the Six-Party Talks and other issues in Sino-DPRK relations.
: The Bank of Korea releases a report concluding that an economic bubble is unlikely to occur in China.
: The Korean Customs Service reports that China has displaced Japan in 2007 as the largest exporter of goods to South Korea.
: South Korean companies in China face toughening government regulations and decreasing incentives to operate there, spurring nighttime departures by some South Korean executives and employees.
: President-elect Lee Myung Bak meets Chinese special envoy Wang Yi during a visit to South Korea to consult on future prospects for Six-Party Talks.
: Forty illegal laborers, including 13 Korean ethnic workers from China, are trapped and burned in a cold-storage warehouse under construction in Incheon, 50 miles south of Seoul.
: Municipal authorities in Dandong, Liaoning Province announce plans to construct a large bridge across the Yalu River to North Korea to expand capacity to handle bilateral trade with North Korea.
: South Korea’s Hana Bank opens its first subsidiary in China in an attempt to develop a retail network in Northeastern China.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Xiaoming hosts a New Year’s reception for leading DPRK government officials including DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium Vice President Yang Hyong-sop.
: South Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak receives a congratulatory message from PRC Ambassador Ning Fukui and affirms his willingness to “upgrade” Korea-China economic relations.
: China and South Korea open military hotlines between their navies and air forces.
: The Korea Times reports that the Korea Institute of Finance has projected that China is emerging as a “new buying power” in global equity markets. The Financial Supervisory Service reports an almost 30-fold increase in Chinese investments to 73.1 billion won from 2.5 billion won during the past year.
: Six-Party Talks PRC lead negotiator and Vice Minister Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang for discussions on progress in disabling North Korea’s Yongbyon facilities.
: MBC reports that former Hyundai Motor employees were detained on charges of providing proprietary automatic transmission technology to a Chinese company in 2005.
: SK Telecom announces that its Chinese joint venture UNISK launched a mobile telephone newsletter service in partnership with China’s major state-run newspaper, The People’s Daily.
: Six-Party Talks Economic and Energy Aid Working Group meets in Beijing.
: Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motor Company opens second factory in Yenching, Jiangsu province. The new plant cost $800 million and has an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.
: Korea Electric Power Corporation announces the launch of Gemeng International Energy Company, Ltd., a joint venture with Shanxi provinces SIEG and Deutsche Bank to acquire and manage Chinese coal mines, plants, and resources.
: Samsung Electronics Company announces that it will be a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
: Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry releases report criticizing South Korean failure to compete with China in developing natural resources in North Korea.
: Roh Moo-hyun participates in the South Korea-China-Japan summit held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three meeting in Singapore. Roh also holds bilateral discussions with PRC Premier Wen Jiabao.
: KOTRA releases results of a survey showing 14 companies, or almost 10 percent of survey respondents among Korean companies operating in China, are seeking opportunities to relocate or return to Korea.
: Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service warns that South Korean local retail investors are overly exposed to China-related equity risks.
: Woori Bank launches a Chinese subsidiary in an effort to provide retail-banking services in major Chinese cities.
: Asiana Airlines launches new twice-a-week service from Cheongju, Chungcheong province to Beijing.
: CCP Central Committee Publicity Department head Liu Yunshan visits Pyongyang and meets Kim Jong-il to deliver a verbal message from Hu Jintao and to provide information on the 17th CPC Party Congress.
: Air service opens between Seoul’s Gimpo and Shanghai’s Hongqiao airports.
: The Asset Management Association of Korea reports a dramatic drop of capital inflows into Chinese equity funds from around 400 billion won during the first three weeks of October to less than 100 billion won, reflecting greater caution among Koreans about Chinese equity risks.
: The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office announces the arrest of six drug traffickers who used Korean ports as a transit point for methamphetamine from China to Japan.
: Two former POSCO employees are arrested for stealing steel processing technologies and selling them to a Chinese competitor.
: The ROK protests China’s use of force against South Korean diplomats while arresting North Korean defectors at an international school in Beijing.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao expresses China’s willingness to join peace talks to replace the military armistice and end the Korean War.
: Six-Party Talks reconvene in Beijing to discuss second-phase commitments under the Feb. 13 Implementing Agreement.
: Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung encourages the U.S. and international financial institutions to provide investment and economic help to North Korea to balance Chinese influence on the Korean Peninsula.
: ROK opens new consulate general in Xian, responsible for consular affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces and the Ninxui Hui Autonomous Region.
: A meeting in Tokyo among director generals from the ministries of environment of China, Korea, and Japan calls for the establishment of a steering committee for joint research on dust and sandstorms.
: China begins shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of its commitment to the Six-Party Talks Feb. 13 Implementing Agreement.
: Date for Six-Party Talks is delayed from third week of September, apparently in connection with NK not yet receiving anticipated PRC supplied oil.
: Allegations surface that South Korean high school students in Pyeongtaek, South Korea bought sex on a school-supervised trip to Shandong, China, sparking a government investigation.
: Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Sydney.
: LG Chem Ltd., announces completion of a primary products plant for production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based in Tianjin.
: Hynix sells its 200 mm DRAM (8-inch) chip wafer line at its Wuxi plant to Chinese Resources Holdings (CRH) for about $400 million.
: Hyundai Motors announces deep discounts on automobile prices in response to sluggish sales in China.
: The Korea Food & Drug Administration announces that a health-threatening chemical known as di-phthalate, or DEHP, has been found in food products from China.
: Fifteenth anniversary of the normalization of relations between the ROK and the PRC.
: Two Chinese companies apply to build factories at the Gaeseong Industrial Park, the first foreign companies to express interest in the project.
: The Korea Institute of Science and Technology announces that many oriental medicines including those from China exceed government-set standards on the density of lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.
: Six-Party Talks Working Group on Denuclearization meets in Shenyang.
: China’s State Oceanic Administration affirms its claim to Ieo Island, known in China as Suyan Rock, a feature on which South Korean authorities have erected a maritime observation facility and a helicopter landing site.
: Nodesystem, a Korean wireless network equipment manufacturer, wins a contract to provide 80,000 smart payment terminals to CnOffice.Net, China’s top portal site for mixed-used office and residential buildings.
: ROK Minister Whang Joung-il, the number two official at the South Korea embassy in China, dies suddenly after eating a sandwich and receiving incorrect medical treatment at a clinic in Beijing.
: Samsung Economic Research Institute President Jung Ku-hyun says that South Korea is not being “sandwiched” between Japan and China, arguing instead that Southeast Asia has been hurt by diversion of global investment to China.
: POSCO announces the completion of a cold-rolling steel mill in Liaoning province with Benxi Iron & Steel Company.
: Six-Party Talks resume in Beijing to discuss further steps in the implementation of the Feb. 13 agreement.
: The Korea International Trade Association requests that the ROK government crack down on the sale of Chinese counterfeit goods in Korea.
: Following a second feasibility study in preparation for negotiation of a China-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA), focusing primarily on the impact of an FTA on the South Korean agricultural market, ROK Minister of Trade Kim Hyun-chong predicts that South Korea’s next administration will begin FTA negotiations with China.
: South Korean wireless network producer Nodesystem announces a deal with China’s Zondy Cyber Group on the use of China’s digital map, which can be used to produce GPS car-navigation systems for the Chinese market.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Pyongyang and meets National Defense Chairman Kim Jong-il.
: PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits North Korea; the first high-level visit since the Feb. 13 six-party agreement.
: Woori Finance and Investment Company announces that it has bought Chinese non-performing loans with a face value of $88 million, the largest Korean investment in Chinese non-performing debt.
: Assistant Secretary Hill visits Pyongyang and meets DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chan and nuclear talks counterpart Kim Gye-gwan.
: The first Korea-China-Japan Industrial fair is held in Seoul to foster industrial and commercial exchange.
: Woori Bank announces that it has become the first South Korean bank to receive approval from the Chinese government to set up a local retail banking unit.
: Newly-appointed DPRK Premier Kim Yong-il meets PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Xiaoming in Pyongyang.
: The Korea Times reports that Hynix Semiconductor CEO Kim Jong-kap sees China as opportunity for growth and argues that the “sandwich” theory is an exaggeration.
: Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) hosts reception in honor of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegation led by Lu Hao, member of the Central Committee of the CCP and secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the CCP. A KWP delegation led by Secretary of the Pyongyang City Committee of the KWP Kim Jin-ha visits the PRC and meets CCP International Department head Wang Jiarui.
: The South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese foreign ministers inaugurate a regular dialogue, engaging in discussions on North Korea, a three-way free trade agreement, and additional cultural exchanges. In a separate bilateral conversation, Song Min-soon requests Yang Jiechi to conduct a thorough investigation into a May 12 freighter accident in the East China Sea.
: PRC People’s Liberation Army chief of the General Staff Liang Guanglie meets counterpart JCS Chairman General Kim Kwan-jin in Seoul. The two sides agree to set up military hotlines on the 15th anniversary of the normalization of PRC-ROK relations in August.
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun states in an MBN interview that China should seek an FTA with China following the establishment of a KORUS FTA.
: A South Korean freighter, the Golden Rose, sinks after colliding with the Chinese freighter Jinshen in waters off Yantai on China’s east coast, killing 16 sailors (seven of whom were Koreans) and sparking a controversy given that Chinese authorities notified the Korean embassy of the accident nearly 21 hours after it occurred.
: ROK prosecutors charge nine former and current employees of Kia Motors with collusion to leak confidential data on Kia’s manufacturing process to a Chinese company.
: Doosan Heavy Industries announces that it will supply core facilities for Chinese nuclear reactors to be built in Shanmen and Haiyang.
: Doosan Infracore, the leading supplier of excavating equipment in China, announces that it will build a second 320,000 sq m production facility in Suzhou in addition to its current plant 500,000 square meter plant in Yantai.
: ROK Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo meets Chinese counterpart Cao Gangchuan during a four-day visit to Beijing and agrees to establish military hotlines.
: Ono Hisashi, head of the Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Seoul office, makes a presentation at a Seoul seminar “Diagnosis of ‘Sandwiched’ Korean Economy and the Relevant Solutions,” sponsored by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that South Korea is increasingly “sandwiched” by Japan and China.
: Chae Tae-bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, meets a visiting delegation of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party led by deputy head Liu Hongcai.
: Five Korean shipbuilders and the Ministry of Commerce, Energy, and Industry discuss a five-year plan to strengthen high-end production in response to the aggressive expansion of Chinese shipbuilders into the low-end market.
: Korea and China sign an agreement between environmental ministries to cooperate in protecting 337 species of migratory birds in the two nations.
: Wen participates in the opening of SK Telecom’s new test bed center to promote commercialization of Chinese third-generation mobile technology, TD-SCDMA.
: Premier Wen visits Seoul for a summit with ROK President Roh Moo-hyun to discuss bilateral and regional economic and political issues including the North Korean nuclear problem and a prospective ROK-PRC FTA.
: Korea, Japan, and China announce that their ministries of health will jointly form a $1 million fund to fight avian influenza.
: PRC Premier Wen Jiabao urges more rapid preparations for a PRC-ROK FTA in a joint interview with South Korean journalists.
: U.S. and South Korea conclude free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.
: The Korea Meteorological Administration issues a nationwide warning against yellow dust from China for the first time since monitoring dust particles in 2002.
: Amnesty International sends a letter to ROK President Roh Moo-hyun criticizing Korea’s forcible deportation of migrant workers following a fire in February at the Yeosu detention facility that took the lives of nine migrant workers.
: China receives the first DPRK military delegation to visit in over six months – the longest interval between military exchanges reported in PRC media over the past year – according to Xinhua. The last military delegation, headed by the deputy chief of staff of the DPRK army, visited in late September 2006, before the DPRK nuclear test.
: The China National Symphony Orchestra holds two concerts at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in honor of the 15th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic normalization.
: The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) announces the launch of a joint feasibility study with Chinese counterparts of the desirability of a China-South Korea FTA.
: The PRC hosts the sixth round of Six-Party Talks, but is forced to call a recess as a result of failure by the U.S. and DPRK to resolve financial issues surrounding Macao-based Banco Delta Asia.
: South Korean Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development announces that from 2012 South Korean high school textbooks will include information on South Korea’s historical and territorial disputes with China and Japan.
: The South Korean Ministry of Justice begins implementation of a new H-2 visa for ethnic Koreans from China and the former Soviet Union that provides more flexible work rules and entry guidelines and other privileges in South Korea.
: Kim Jong-il visits the PRC Embassy in Pyongyang on the occasion of the first full moon following the Spring Festival at the invitation of PRC Ambassador Liu Xiaoming and receives a “verbal message” from Hu Jintao.
: South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research reveals results of a study that shows emissions of sulfur dioxide in coastal areas surrounding South Korea are four to 10 times higher than in other parts of the North Pacific due to China’s industrialization.
: The Korea Intellectual Property Office announces that its patent registration system takes less than nine month to register a technology patent, a measure that is anticipated to help prevent technology infringement by foreign competitors, especially from China.
: Former Chinese Ambassador to Korea Li Bin has come under investigation by the PRC government for leaking state secrets. Li Bin is alleged to have revealed to news media information related to Kim Jong-il’s January 2006 visit to China.
: Korea Meteorological Association issues its first nationwide warning on yellow dust from China. This warning occurs almost one month earlier than usual.
: Yellow dust from China arrives on the Korean Peninsula, one month earlier than previous years.
: Korea International Trade Association (KITA) projects that China will become the largest exporter in the world and the largest exporter to South Korea this year.
: Media sightings of Kim Jong-il’s oldest son Kim Jong-nam in Beijing en route from Macao to Pyongyang stimulate speculation about North Korean succession and China-DPRK relations.
: A Chinese-Korean detainee is suspected to have started a fire at the Yeosu immigration detention center that claimed the lives of nine foreign inmates.
: The PRC hosts the third session of the fifth round of Six-Party Talks, and announces a Feb. 13 agreement on initial measures to be taken to implement the Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement.
: Korea and China signed an agreement to actively cooperate to promote establishment of electronic governance systems.
: The daughter of a South Korean prisoner of war criticizes the South Korean government for its failure to assist her in bringing her father’s remains from China to South Korea.
: Twenty North Korean guards are reported to have fled to China after having been accused of bribery for helping defectors.
: Five female South Korean short-track silver medalists raise signs reading “Mount Paektu is our territory” at a medal awards ceremony during the Winter Asian Games in Chuncheon, South Korea, triggering Chinese demands for an apology from South Korean Foreign Ministry counterparts.
: South Korea’s opposition Grand National Party seeks a National Assembly probe into recent incidents in the course of handling North Korean refugee cases at the South Korean consulate general in Shenyang, China.
: The Korea Trade Investment-Promotion Agency urges South Korean companies to weigh the risks of China’s changing business environment carefully before making investments in China.
: Top army commanders from South Korea and China announce plans to enhance military cooperation and improve military exchange programs during the visit to South Korea of PLA Deputy Chief of the General Staff Gen. Ge Zhenfeng.
: ROK FM Song Min-soon visits Beijing to meet Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing and other Chinese leaders on Six-Party Talks and other bilateral issues.
: South Korean media strongly criticizes the ROK Foreign Ministry for revelations that it failed to safeguard the families of South Korean prisoners of war in Shenyang who sought to come to South Korea. Chinese police raided their hotel and repatriated the families to North Korea.
: South Korean fisherman Choe Uk-il returns to South Korea from China 31 years after his detention in North Korea.
: Roh Moo-hyun, Wen Jiabao, and Abe Shinzo meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three summit in Cebu. Roh proposes Gimpo-Shanghai direct air service and the institutionalization of a three-way meeting among South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese foreign ministers.
: The South Korean public is enraged by media reports of a recording of a conversation between the wife of abducted fisherman Choe Uk-il and an ROK consular official who asks how she got his mobile telephone number. The case highlights chronic difficulties on the part of the South Korean Foreign Ministry in safeguarding rights of South Korean citizens who have escaped from North Korea.
: The National Theater of Korea cancels a “2007 Seoul Spectacular” New Year’s gala sponsored by the overseas Chinese New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) under pressure from the Chinese government.
: In a meeting with Japanese Diet Speaker Kono Yohei, PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan argues that “an expected crucial achievement was not made [in six party talks] due to mutual distrust between the U.S. and North Korea.”
: Samsung Electronics, the world’s third-largest cell phone producer, announces that it has struck a deal with Beijing Airway Communications to launch a Korean mobile Internet platform, called WiBro, in China.
: Ssangyong Moters Labor Union representatives travel to Shanghai in hopes of meeting with controlling shareholders at Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) regarding restructuring and investment plans for Ssangyong’s plant in Korea.
: The “second phase” of the fifth round of Six-Party Talks is held in Beijing, but no apparent progress is made during these negotiations.
: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announces the arrest of 224 people on charges of trafficking narcotics from China following a 40-day crackdown on drug trafficking.
: Chinese diplomats remain overnight in their cars as a result of the driver’s refusal to take a breathalyzer test in an eight-hour standoff with Seoul Metropolitian Police authorities. News of the incident infuriates South Korean netizens.
: Hyundai Research Institute warns of risks to South Korean investors in China arising from Chinese efforts to focus on “qualitative growth” by promoting technology transfers as conditions for entry of foreign direct investment, enhancing international competitiveness of domestic companies and encouraging them to move up the technology ladder.
: Korea Iron and Steel Association reports that ROK exports of steel products to China dropped by 14.4 percent to 3.4 million tons, while Chinese imports to the Korean market have increased by 46 percent to 8.4 million tons through October as a result of improved Chinese steel production quality and price competitiveness.
: The Bank of Korea announces that China was the largest destination for South Korean foreign direct investment in 2005, amounting to $10.1 billion, or 26.2 percent of South Korea’s overall investment.
: The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) announces it will inspect cultivated flatfish imported form China for nitrofuran, a carcinogen.
: Presidents Roh and Hu discuss the North Korean nuclear issue at the APEC meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.
: Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and ROK Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong agree to a feasibility study on a China-South Korea free trade area (FTA) at the official level in early 2007.
: PRC Ambassador to South Korea Ning Fukui sayes his country will consult with a concerned country, apparently referring to North Korea, before seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for Mount Paekdu on its border with the North.
: Hyundai Steel, Korea’s second largest steel producer, is reported to be considering requesting an anti-dumping investigation of Chinese mills that have undercut Hyundai’s market share in steel H-beams.
: Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency announces that China will enforce tougher trade restrictions on processed and manufactured products from Nov. 22 to restrict South Korea’s use of China as a production base for third-country manufactured goods exports and to create more value-added products for the Chinese market.
: South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism sponsors “Feel the K-pop in Shanghai” with leading K-pop stars including Fly to the Sky, SG Wannabe, and V.O.S., and Typhoon.
: At the invitation of PRC Vice Minister Wu Dawei, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill and DPRK Vice Minister Kim Gye-gwan meet in Beijing and agree to return to six-party dialogue and to include discussions of U.S. Treasury “financial measures” related to the DPRK as part of the talks.
: South Korean Foreign Minister/UN Secretary General-designate Ban Ki-moon discusses the North Korean nuclear standoff with President Hu and PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing during a visit to Beijing.
: A ceremony is held as part of Korean Air’s strategy to make China its “second home market” following agreements between China and South Korea to gradually open their skies.
: State Councilor Tang briefs Secretary of State Rice on his meetings in Pyongyang with Kim Jong-il.
: UNSCR 1718 unanimously imposed limited sanctions on North Korean nuclear and missile parts procurement, conventional weapons, and luxury goods following North Korea’s nuclear test.
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun travels to Beijing for a one-day summit with PRC President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo. The two presidents agree to support “appropriate and necessary measures” by the UN Security Council in response to North Korea’s nuclear test.
: State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan travels as Hu Jintao’s special envoy to Washington, Moscow, and Pyongyang for consultations following North Korea’s nuclear test. In Pyongyang, he is the first high-level official to meet with Kim Jong-il following North Korea’s test.
: The Korea Shipowners’ Association expresses concern that Busan port is losing its competitive edge against rapidly rising competition from Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are attracting container ships from Busan, the fifth busiest port in 2005 with over 11.8 million TEU in volume.
: North Korea announces that it has safely and successfully conducted its first test of a nuclear bomb. A 3.58-3.7 magnitude tremor was detected in the North’s northeastern Hamkyong Province. Subsequent analysis yields estimates that the yield from such an explosion would be less than one kiloton, raising questions whether the device worked properly or was intentionally designed to minimize yield and avoid environmental contamination.
: The UN Security Council adopts a statement warning North Korea to refrain from conducting a nuclear test.
: North Korea says it will conduct a nuclear test to prop up its self-defense against “growing U.S. hostility against the communist regime.”
: PRC Vice Minister Wu Dawei visits Seoul for consultations with South Korean leaders on how to get North Korea to come to Six-Party Talks in advance of President Roh’s planned visit to Beijing for consultations with China’s top leadership.
: The DPRK Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission and the General Administration of Sports of China sign a protocol on sports exchanges for 2007.
: China’s new ambassador to North Korea Liu Xiaoming pays a courtesy call on Kim Il-chol, minister of the People’s Armed Forces, and Kim Yong-chun, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army.
: SK Telecom organizes and sponsors “Experience China,” a 10-day cultural extravaganza held in southern Seoul to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-South Korean relations.
: Six South Korean lawmakers visit China to investigate issues in a dispute involving conflicting Chinese and South Korean historical claims.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Xiaoming meets DPRK President Kim Yong-nam to present his credentials. Kim reaffirms that North Korea’s policy is to “make efforts to strengthen the traditional relationship with China.”
: KCNA reports that a commissioning ceremony to open the ore dressing plant of the Ryonghung Mine was held. China’s Guangshou Group Company is a major partner in the operation of the plant.
: The Daily Telegraph reports that Kim Jong-il has made known to Russian and Chinese diplomats his plan to conduct an underground nuclear test.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang confirms that China has provided “a certain amount” of humanitarian assistance to the DPRK, including grain, food, diesel oil, and medicine for disaster relief.
: Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok says that if Kim Jong-il were to visit China that it would be a “highly positive” move.
: North Korea defeats China 5-0 in the finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship held in Moscow.
: South Korean newspapers speculate on possibility of Kim Jong-il’s visiting China based on rumors that Kim Jong-il’s special train approached Sinuiju on the China-DPRK border.
: Ssangyong Motors labor union accepts settlement to end seven-week strike.
: China’s Lenovo company expresses interest in taking over Korean PC manufacturer TriGem Computer Inc. through a letter filed with the Suwon District Court.
: Korea and China agree to strengthen cooperation on technology development, standard settings, and device manufacturing at the sixth Korea-China economic ministerial meeting held in Seoul.
: Korea International Trade Association forecasts a decrease in Korean exports and investments in China in response to Chinese efforts to cool its overheating economy.
: Kim Jong-il is reported by Japan’s Kyodo News as having called China and Russia “unreliable,” saying that North Korea should overcome the international standoff over its nuclear and missile programs on its own.
: Ssangyong Motor workers reject a tentative agreement with management to end a protracted strike.
: Korea Development Bank urges Korean firms to draw up long-term localization strategies when considering investments in China.
: A delegation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China Chamber of International Commerce led by Vice Chairman Zhang Wei visits Pyongyang.
: A delegation of China’s Ministry of Public Security led by Vice Minister Meng Hongwei travels to Pyongyang and signs an agreement on cooperation with counterparts in the DPRK Ministry of People’s Security.
: PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Wu Donghe pays a farewell call on President Kim Yong-nam.
: Ssangyong Motors union leaders call a general strike against Shanghai Automotive International Company management to protest management decisions to implement layoffs and move production to China rather than investing in plant in Korea.
: South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong denies that Korea rejected China’s proposal to sign a free trade agreement last year due to U.S. concerns over China’s rising influence in Northeast Asia.
: DPRK Football Association files a written protest against officiating at the semifinal match of the Asian Football Confederation between China and North Korea in which three North Korean players attacked a referee on a disputed call. China won 1-0. China won the tournament and the DPRK won the consolation game.
: POSCO becomes the first foreign company to operate an integrated stainless steel mill in China, a factory with an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tons at Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province.
: DPRK Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il replies to President Hu’s message of sympathy regarding floods that hit North Korea.
: ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing agreed to pursue dialogue with North Korea at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur.
: Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin states that the Bank of China has frozen North Korean accounts in relation to alleged counterfeiting activities, based on conversations he held in Washington with U.S. Treasury officials.
: DPRK Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il receives a message of sympathy from PRC President Hu Jintao regarding recent flood damages in North Korea.
: In a phone conversation with Roh Moo-hyun, Hu Jintao calls on all parties to be patient and restrained and to push forward the Six-Party Talks.
: The PRC signs on to a compromise UNSC resolution that condemns North Korea’s missile tests, but does not include Chapter 7 language originally endorsed by Tokyo.
: China and Russia introduce UN resolution that condemns the missile tests and calls for a moratorium on missile testing and a return to the Six-Party Talks, but does not call for binding sanctions.
: In a meeting with DPRK Vice President Yang Hyong-sop, PRC President Hu Jintao urges North Korea to refrain from increasing tensions over its nuclear program and to return to disarmament talks.
: China circulates a nonbinding statement within the UN Security Council as an alternative to a draft resolution that would sanction North Korea for its missile tests.
: Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu leads the first Chinese delegation to North Korea following the July 5 missile tests to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the signing of the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. PRC Ambassador Wu Dawei accompanied the delegation, but the group failed to meet Kim Jong-il.
: North Korea launches seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, provoking a firestorm of international condemnation.
: South Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Rhee Sang-hee visits China to promote bilateral military cooperation.
: PRC Premier Wen Jiabao states that “China is paying close attention to news that North Korea is possibly planning a missile-launch . . . I hope all parties will continue their efforts to maintain the stability of the Korean Peninsula.”
: ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon visits Beijing to meet counterpart Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. They agree on a “concrete and persuasive proposal” to North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks as a precursor to bilateral talks over North Korea’s missile program with the United States.
: SK Telecom Company announces that it will invest $1 billion to buy convertible bonds in China Unicom Ltd., a strategic investment designed to tap a growing market in China for wireless services and products.
: The Export-Import Bank of Korea releases report stating that South Korean exporters would be at risk if the PRC further raises interest rates and tightens control on bank loans to cool its overheating economy.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun visits China for consultations with PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
: ROK Commerce and Industry Minister Chung Sye-kyun meets counterpart Bo Xilai in Seoul to discuss trade issues. Bo calls for progress in bilateral free trade agreement talks and called on Seoul to better manage labor-management disputes, while Chung mentioned difficulties that South Korean businessmen have in managing differences between local and central government policies in China.
: SK Corporation, South Korea’s top refiner, is exploring investments in the Chinese coalmining sector, according to SK’s senior vice president for the China division, Kim Sang-kook.
: Ministry of Justice announces the issuance of a new employment visa, the H-2 visa, from July, enabling ethnic Koreans from China and Russia to freely enter, depart, and work in Korea for up to five years.
: Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces gives a reception in honor of a Chinese delegation led by former Deputy Department Director of the Chinese Academy of Military Science Shao Hua, on the occasion of their visit to the gravesite of Mao Anying, son of Mao Zedong, who died in North Korea during the Korean War.
: China Council for Promotion of International Trade Chairman Wan Jifei leads a Chinese delegation to a four-day international trade fair in Pyongyang.
: A delegation of the China Development Bank headed by Gov. Chen Yuan visits Pyongyang and meets with Vice Premier Ro Du-chol.
: Director of the IT bureau of Hainan Province Ma Er Qiang and a delegation from China arrive in Seoul for training in e-governance systems.
: PRC Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong leads a government economic and trade delegation to Pyongyang for the second meeting of the DPRK-China Economic, Trade, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee.
: ROK Ministry of Environment announces that record levels of harmful materials were contained in “yellow dust” from China during this spring season. The dust contained iron levels 12 times higher than that during a normal day in Seoul.
: China’s unexpected move to lift interest rates by 0.27 percent to 5.85 percent hits markets in Seoul, raising concerns that higher interest rates may dampen prospects for Korean exporters.
: PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan makes a secret trip to Pyongyang and briefs Chairman Kim Jong-il on the results of Hu Jintao’s summit with George Bush.
: PRC DM Cao arrives in Seoul for meetings with counterparts.
: Based on the popularity of Korean-made products in the Middle East, some Chinese counterfeiters have produced products with a “Made in Korea” label, according to a report by GNP Assemblyman Kwak Sung-mun.
: Korea International Trade Association releases a report warning that imports from China are beginning to outpace Korea’s exports to China, and calling for a Sino-Korean FTA and industrial dialogues to better manage economic relations.
: South Korea hit by an unexpected series of “yellow dust” storms from China, leading to calls for more effective forecasting of the storms and heightening concerns about high levels of dangerous elements in the air during those storms.
: Plans by the Korea Exchange to internationalize the Seoul stock exchange by inviting Chinese companies to list are stalled by roadblocks from Chinese regulators. Shenzhen-based PowerLeader Science and Technology Company, Ltd., was one of the first Chinese companies to apply for a listing on the Korean stock market, but its application remains blocked.
: A report released by KDI states that China is expected to pose a full-fledged challenge to South Korea’s semiconductor, electronic parts, and consumer electronics exports globally.
: PRC Defense Minister Cao Guangchan arrives in Pyongyang for meetings with his counterparts.
: Kyodo report states that China and North Korea agree to set up a joint economic development zone near Nampo, an east coast port in North Korea.
: Ssangyong Motor CEO Choi Hyung-tak announces that the company would no longer build a jointly invested plant with its parent company, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in China, following speculation that the Chinese government had rejected an application to build an auto plant in China.
: ROK Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Yoon Jeung-hyun hosts a two-day seminar on trilateral financial supervisory cooperation among supervisory authorities of China, Japan, and South Korea on how to implement an early warning system for financial instability, monitor hedge funds, and implement Basel II.
: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council sponsors seven leading Hong Kong universities for recruiting students held at the Korean Student Fair.
: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announces that four people were arrested smuggling fake Korean cigarettes from China containing higher than average levels of harmful substances.
: ROK military announces plans to revise defense laws related to cyber-warfare to address cyber-warfare capabilities from China and North Korea.
: Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-soo urges South Korean corporations to improve their technical capacity to counter a threat from rising Chinese technological competitiveness in an address at the 11th Asia Economic Panel meeting.
: Korea Institute for Defense Analysis poll shows that 38 percent of South Koreans consider China to be the biggest security threat Korea will face within 10 years, followed by Japan (23.6 percent), North Korea (20.7 percent), and the U.S. (14.8 percent).
: ROK Financial Supervisory Commission announces that two Chinese companies will list shares on the Korea Stock Exchange by July.
: A 30-member delegation led by first deputy chief of the Workers’ Party Central Committee Jang Song-taek arrives in China to view China’s economic reforms, following the same route as Kim Jong-il’s visit in January.
: Ssangyong Motors Company announces that it is considering cost cutting measures by sourcing components via a subsidiary of its owner, the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC).
: ROK Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs announces that it will invite 11 government officials from China to study Korea’s past rural development policies; i.e., the Saemaul (“New Village”) movement.
: ROK Minister of Trade Kim Hyun-chong expresses doubts about the possibility of a ROK-PRC free trade agreement.
: ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy releases a survey showing that China is cutting into the technology advantage enjoyed in a wide range of sectors by South Korean firms.
: A Korea Times opinion poll reveals that 40 percent of respondents believe that China should be South Korea’s top priority, while 60 percent believed that South Korea should declare neutrality in the event of a cross-Strait conflict where the U.S. wants to employ “strategic flexibility” to intervene in such a conflict.
: The Korea Iron and Steel Association releases data showing that a quarter of China’s steel exports came to Korea, while South Korean steel exports to China declined by over 24 percent during the past year.
: ROK National Institute of Environmental Research reports that rainfall in Seoul has become more acidic as a result of air pollutants traveling from China.
: ROK Ministry of Justice announces plans to issue new employment visas from July for ethnic Koreans living in China and Russia.
: Chinese Vice Minister Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang in a failed attempt to jumpstart the Six-Party Talks.
: Christian Council of Korea (CCK) closes down the Commission to Help North Korean Refugees (CNKR) on the basis of reports that activists sought profits from its programs to assist North Korean refugees transiting China en route to South Korea.
: National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il hosts a Lunar New Year’s banquet for Chinese embassy staff in Pyongyang.
: South Korean government issues a travel warning for Koreans traveling to Qindao and Shenyang following reports of murders, robberies, and kidnappings targeting Korean citizens in those cities.
: South Korean Ministry of Justice announces that over 10.3 million Koreans traveled overseas in 2005, with 28.7 percent of travelers visiting China.
: Taiwanese and Chinese media outlets decide to drastically cut the number of Korean dramas to be shown in China and Taiwan respectively in 2006.
: ROK National Intelligence Service announces the detention of two former Samsung Electronics employees who sought to smuggle critical LCD panel technology to China to build their own factory in Shenzhen.
: Korea Customs Service announces that South Korea’s merchandise trade with China in 2005 reached $100.6 billion.
: DPRK Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il makes a secret week-long visit to China, accompanied by every member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Politburo and follows the route taken by Deng Xiaoping during his famous “southern tour” of 1992.
: ROK Vice Foreign Minister Song Min-soon states that the issue of North Korean counterfeiting is up to the U.S., North Korea, and China to resolve.
: PRC Premier Wen affirms China’s policy of developing friendly and cooperative relations with the DPRK during meeting with a DPRK delegation led by Cabinet Vice Premier Ro Tu-chol in Beijing. During his visit, Ro and Chinese counterpart Zeng Paiyan sign agreement on the joint development of offshore oil wells.
: POSCO announces that it will cut prices on 13 steel products by up to 17 percent in response to low-cost competition from Chinese steel producers.
: ROK President Roh meets PRC Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
: Police arrests two Korean brokers for arranging illegal transplants of human organs in China.
: Vice Foreign Minister Song Min-soon meets with counterparts in Beijing to discuss how to resolve the impasse in Six-Party Talks resulting from North Korean objections to U.S. sanctions against Macao-based Banco Delta Asia for involvement with alleged counterfeiting and drug running activities by North Korean companies.
: ROK government and ruling party decides to send food inspectors to Chinese facilities to check sanitation of kimchi and other agricultural products.
: ROK President Roh hosts APEC leaders in Busan.
: PRC President Hu addresses ROK National Assembly in Seoul.
: PRC President Hu and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun hold summit meeting in Seoul as part of PRC state visit to South Korea.
: KCNA reports that Kim Jong-il has visited the recently commissioned Pyongyang Joint Venture Bicycle Factory, a joint venture with the Tienjian Leading Digital Trade Company, Ltd.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. labor union leaders announce a vote on whether to strike in response to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation plans to build a joint venture plant in China that labor leaders fear would result in plant closures and technology transfers to a China-based production plant.
: Fifth round of Six-Party Talks held in Beijing.
: Ssangyong Motor Co. announces that it plans to focus on a Chinese joint venture to develop a new car in China rather than increasing domestic production.
: Korea Food and Drug Administration finds that 3.2 percent of Korean domestic kimchi manufacturers (16 out of 502 companies) contain parasite eggs.
: PRC government announces a ban on 10 types of food products from major Korean manufacturers of kimchi, chili paste, and meat barbeque sauces.
: Vice Foreign Minister Li Bin visits Seoul to brief counterpart ROK Vice Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on President Hu’s visit to the DPRK and to discuss the anticipated fifth round of Six-Party Talks.
: PRC President Hu makes state visit to Pyongyang, meets DPRK Central Defense Commission Chairman Kim, signs accord on economic and technical cooperation, and visits the Taean Friendship Glass Factory.
: ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy announces that ROK machinery exports have surged 31 percent in the first nine months of 2005. Demand from China accounted for one-third of South Korean machinery exports.
: ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon downplays impact of safety concerns about kimchi imported from China on China-ROK relations.
: Hyundai Motor Company internal investigation reveals that a Chinese partner involved with computer simulation tried to sell confidential technologies to Chinese competitors.
: ROK MOFAT reveals that the Chinese government has warned the Korean embassy in Beijing that it could retaliate against ROK government reports that have raised fears over the safety of Chinese products.
: Korea Food and Drug Administration announces that it has found parasites in kimchi imported from China.
: Following Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro’s Oct 17. visit to Yasukuni Shine, ROK Ministry of Education announces that it seeks a three-way meeting among education ministers from China and Japan to address alleged distortions in history textbooks in the three countries.
: KCNA releases text of telegram from Hu Jintao to DPRK Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il, which states that “China will continue strengthening the bilateral friendly cooperative relationship between the parties, governments and peoples of the two countries under the spirit of maintaining tradition, seeking future-oriented relationship and enhancing friendly cooperation.”
: Korea Food and Drug Administration announces that kimchi imported from China has lead contents well below internationally recognized permissible level for vegetables, ending a consumer scare.
: ROK MOFAT announces that China has handed over to South Korea eight North Korean defectors who entered a South Korean school in Qingdao, China.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announces that the Chinese government deported seven North Korean defectors back to North Korea in late September after they sought asylum at a South Korean school in Yentai, China Aug. 29.
: Eighth Chinese World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention is held in Seoul, including over 3,100 Chinese businessmen and over 500 Korean counterparts.
: PRC Vice Premier Wu Yi visits Pyongyang to join celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Korean Worker’s Party, meets with North Korean leaders including DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-il, and participates in ceremonies marking the opening of the Taean Friendship Glass Factory, a China-DPRK joint venture.
: Korean shipbuilding companies announce plans to increase steel imports from China to address a shortage of steel sheets.
: The Korea Shipbuilders’ Association (KSA) announced a possible increase in steel imports from China to cut costs. Increasing competitiveness of Chinese steel factories threatens POSCO’s market position from the beginning of the year.
: The ROK Navy announces that it will set up a naval hotline with China to avoid accidental armed clashes in the West Sea.
: Grand National Party Assemblywoman Ko Kyung-hwa releases report from the Research Institute of Public Health and Environment showing that the lead content of Chinese-made kimchi is three to five times higher than that of Korean kimchi.
: DPRK KCNA announces that Pyongyang will not dismantle its nuclear program until after Washington provides North Korea with a light-water reactor. PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman indicates that the KCNA interpretation is different from the contents of the joint statement that North Korea agreed to in Six-Party Talks.
: PRC FM Li and FM Ban meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
: Fourth round of six-party dialogue in Beijing concludes with a joint statement of principles.
: DPRK Cabinet Vice Premier Kwak Pom-gi meets delegation of the China State Electric Network Corporation headed by its President Liu Zhenya
: Seoul announces redoubled efforts to inspect food imports and punish those found to accept contaminated goods following reports that Chinese eels treated with a cancer-causing substance called malachite green had been imported to South Korea.
: Fourth round of Six-Party Talks reconvenes for a second phase of discussions of a proposed joint statement of principles on the North Korean nuclear issue.
: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction announces plans to cooperate with Harbin Power Equipment Company, China’s largest power facility builder, in bidding for new projects in China, with a focus on the nuclear energy production sector.
: PRC Vice FM Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang and meets with DPRK FM Paek Nam-sun to clarify DPRK positions prior to the resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: ROK Ministry of Information and Communication announces efforts to strengthen internet security on college campuses following press reports from Hong Kong that Chinese hackers from the Association of China’s Red Hackers might try to use Korean servers to launch attacks on Japanese websites.
: ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon visits Beijing to meet with counterpart Li Zhaoxing on the status of the Six-Party Talks prior to visiting Washington.
: The People’s Bank of China announces that the South Korean won is one of the components of the currency basket created as part of a new “managed float” mechanism for revaluing the yuan.
: Fourth round of Six-Party Talks recesses following discussion of four drafts of a PRC-proposed joint statement.
: Finance Minister Han Duck-soo proposes the establishment of a development bank for Northeast Asia to help North Korea integrate into the regional economy of Northeast Asia.
: Korea Food and Drug Administration announces that cancer-causing malachite green was detected in one out of seven live eel specimens and six out of seven frozen processed eels imported from China.
: Fourth round of Six-Party Talks convenes in Beijing.
: The People’s Bank of China revalues its currency by 2.1 percent while establishing a limited “managed float” mechanism against international currencies, abandoning the previous fixed exchange rate.
: Grand National Party Assemblyman Lee Ke-jin calls for Seoul to permit the Dalai Lama to visit South Korea to receive the “Manhae Peace Prize,” offered by a local Korean civic group. Seoul has refused to permit the Dalai Lama to visit the ROK to avoid offending the PRC.
: PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan visits Pyongyang as a special envoy of PRC President Hu Jintao and meets with DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-il.
: A Chinese man takes a picture of an unidentified flying object hovering over Mount Paekdu, spawning reports of UFO sightings by Korean tourists to the area.
: PRC Finance Minister Ma Kai and ROK Minister of Finance and Economy Han Duck-soo meet in Beijing to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties in the energy and information technology sectors.
: PRC Minister of the State Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense Zhang Yunchuan leads a team of officials and private sector leaders to Seoul for a six-day visit to discuss joint nuclear energy projects and to meet with ROK Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Energy Lee Hee-beom.
: ROK PM Lee Hae-chan meets with PRC PM Wen Jiabao during a three-day visit to Beijing and signs a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in developing cutting-edge technology and cooperation in the field of nano-technology.
: Former South Korean prisoner of war Jang Pan-seon arrives in Seoul, but the fate of family members remains uncertain as they reportedly remain in the hands of Chinese brokers.
: Over 400 business and opinion leaders from Korea and China attend the 2005 Korea-China Economic Conference entitled “Pursuing Super Economic Cooperation in East Asia” to promote interactive economic ties and to encourage investment in China prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
: Korean Internet company SK Communications Co. unveils a Chinese-language version of their popular Cyworld weblog services (www.cyworld.com.cn).
: Seven North Korean refugees enter the Thai embassy in Vietnam, seeking asylum to South Korea.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade asks China to streamline complex procedures imposed on South Korean cultural projects taking place in China to help facilitate the Korean wave, or “hallyu.”
: Middle school history text book “History to Open the Future” is published by a team of scholars and civic organizations from China, Japan, and Korea.
: ROK Culture and Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chea announces that the ministry would support 100 selected Chinese restaurants to serve the increasing number of Chinese tourists to South Korea.
: Grand National Party opposition leader Park Geun-hye visits China to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis with top Chinese leaders including Wang Jiarui, director of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
: Bank of Korea reports that the revaluation of Chinese yuan would benefit the Korean economy, dismissing concerns that the currency adjustment could undermine South Korea’s economic growth potential.
: KITA announces that China either imposed import restriction measures or initiated anti-dumping investigations on 26 Korean export items, accounting for the largest number of restrictions imposed on foreign import items.
: A 10-member National Assembly delegation of the Korea-China Friendship Association led by Vice Speaker Park Hee-tae visits China for meetings with Chinese counterparts.
: PRC President Hu and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun meet in Moscow on the sidelines of the 60th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War II.
: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. says it has been chosen as the preferred negotiator to build a nuclear power plant in Zhejiang Province, the first step in pursuit of export of South Korea’s domestically built nuclear reactors to China.
: ROK FM Ban Ki-moon and PRC FM Li Zhaoxing express concern about the exchange of invective between the U.S. and DPRK and its implications for the resumption of Six-Party Talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe Meeting in Kyoto.
: Heads of the development banks of China, Korea, and Japan meet to promote stronger financial sector cooperation for regional economic development.
: Hynix Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics hold groundbreaking ceremony for a cutting-edge memory chip manufacturing facility in Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.
: Seoul Chinatown Development announces that it will start construction of “Chinese Street,” the first of three phases in the construction of a Chinatown in Ilsan, Kyunggi Province.
: Kumho Tire Company completes expansion of plant in Nanjing, doubling production capacity in China, and announces that it will invest over $400 million during the next two years to expand China-based production, including a new plant at Tianjin.
: Korean carmakers unveil three new models for production in the Chinese market at Auto Shanghai 2005.
: Korea Meteorological Association announces that the six yellow dust storms that have hit South Korea during March-April of 2005 are the most since 1990.
: Korea National Tourism Organization chooses popular Hong Kong actress and singer Chen Huilin as goodwill ambassador for Korea’s tourism industry.
: Senior officials from South Korea, China, and Japan meet in Beijing and discuss rising tensions over historical issues between Japan and its Asian neighbors and to plan the agenda for the trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan set for early May.
: Newspaper reports speculate that President Hu Jintao may visit Pyongyang in late April following consultations with DPRK Vice Minister Kang. The visit did not materialize.
: A survey of Korean companies by the Institute for Global Management finds that most Korean executives believe Chinese companies will reach South Korea’s technical level in four years or less; 18 percent responded that China has already established an equivalent technical footing with Korean companies.
: PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin voices support for South Korea’s plan to play the role of a “balancer” in Northeast Asia as long as it contributes to peace and prosperity in the region.
: Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announces that over 2.84 million South Koreans visited China in 2004, a 46 percent increase over the previous year. Only Japan surpassed South Korea in the number of visitors to China.
: Delegates from Foundation of Medical Professional Alliance in Taiwan and Taiwan Medical Association visit Korea to draw support for its entry to the WHO.
: DPRK Vice FM Kang Sok-ju leads delegation to Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s possible return to the Six-Party Talks on its nuclear weapons program.
: ROK Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung visits China to meet with PRC counterparts and tour major Chinese military facilities.
: Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance, South Korea’s largest non-life insurer, becomes the world’s first insurance company to establish a subsidiary in China, according to the ROK Financial Supervisory Commission.
: DPRK PM Pak Bong-Ju embarks on a week-long visit to China at the invitation of counterpart PRC PM Wen Jiabao. PM Pak is reported to have brought an invitation for PRC President Hu to visit the DPRK later this year.
: South Korean President Roh declares that South Korea will play a “‘balancing role’ to help ensure peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula,” possibly signaling a shift away from the U.S. and toward China.
: President Roh Moo-hyun in a speech at the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony clarifies that South Korea will not allow U.S. troops to become involved in any dispute in Northeast Asia without the consent of the government.
: Jiang Zhiwei, of the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation that recently took over Ssangyong Motors, announces that Ssangyong has successfully completed the restructuring process, and is ready to become a top automaker in Asia.
: Chinese chief negotiator Wu Dawei holds meetings in Seoul with South Korea’s FM Ban Ki-moon, Vice FM Song Min-soon, and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in a drive to get North Korea back to the negotiating table. Ambassador Wu also meets Ambassador Chris Hill, newly appointed senior U.S. representative to the Six-Party Talks.
: Taiwanese airlines, including China Airlines, EVA Air, Far Eastern Air Transport, TransAsia Airways, and UNI Airways, resume regular flights to South Korean cities, ending 13 years of suspended service.
: South Korea, the U.S. and Japan meet to discuss North Korea’s suspension of participation in Six-Party Talks, compare notes on the visit of Wang Jiarui to Pyongyang, and urge China to step up efforts to persuade Pyongyang to return to the talks.
: Finance officials from China, Japan, and South Korea meet counterparts from ASEAN to discuss ways to counteract the weak dollar.
: PRC CCP international liaison department head Wang Jiarui meets with Kim Jong-il and other top North Korean officials to discuss the North Korean nuclear standoff and DPRK reluctance to return to the Six-Party Talks. He delivers a letter from Hu Jintao on China’s policy objectives and the Six-Party Talks.
: ROK ambassador to the PRC Kim Ha-joong says in Seoul that China has bigger influence than others might expect on North Korea, if it is willing to use that influence to settle the North Korean nuclear issue.
: ROK Deputy FM Song Min-soon travels to Beijing for consultations with his counterpart, PRC Ambassador Wu Dawei. Newly appointed envoy for Six-Party Talks Ambassador Chris Hill has separate consultations in Beijing with Wu.
: ROK ruling Uri Party announces intent to sign a memorandum of understanding to increase cooperation with China’s Communist Party.
: Hyundai Motor announces it is working closely with 10 law firms in China to toughen its stance against copyright violations by Chinese automakers.
: KITA announces that China’s share of the Japanese import market soared to 20.7 percent last year from 14.5 percent in 2000, while South Korea’s share of Japan’s imports dropped from 5.4 percent in 2000 to 4.9 percent last year.
: DPRK announces the “indefinite suspension” of its participation in Six- Party Talks until conditions change, asserts it has “manufactured nuclear weapons.”
: Kyonggi Provincial Governor Sohn Hak-kyu announces that his provincial government will develop a multi-complex showbiz village called “Hallyu-wood,” to expand the current popularity of Korean culture sweeping Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
: According to KITA, North Korea’s economic reliance on China grew last year, with bilateral trade between the two states hitting a record $1.38 billion, up 35.4 percent from a year earlier.
: ROK Deputy FM Song Min-soon meets with Chinese Ambassador Li and states Seoul’s objection to the fast return to the DPRK of Han Man-tack, a refugee from North Korea who also was a former South Korean soldier taken prisoner during the 1950-53 Korean War.
: KITA announces that Korea’s direct investment in China amounted to $6.25 billion last year, more than twice the $2.72 billion two years earlier.
: Ssangyong Motor, South Korea’s fourth-largest automaker, announces it will end its debt workout programs, five years after it fell into financial turmoil following the Asian economic crisis and following the successful purchase of Ssangyong by the Shanghai Automotive Group.
: Hyundai Heavy Industries announces it has won a contract to build the world’s largest container ships from China’s Cosco Asia, beginning the era of building container ships that can carry more than 10,000 TEUs of cargo.
: Seoul City Government announces its new Chinese name, “(soual),” which means “a leading city.” The name is intended to replace the traditional Chinese language reference for Seoul, “han-cheng.”
: Sohn Jin-bang, chief of LG Electronics’ Chinese holding company, states that LG Electronics will make a strong push to increase its electronic appliance sales in China by 50 percent from last year’s $10 billion.
: Opposition GNP accuses China of “diplomatic arrogance” for manhandling GNP lawmakers who tried to hold a news conference in Beijing, and demands the Roh government punish Seoul diplomats responsible for policy on Chinese affairs.
: South Korean Foreign Ministry summons Chinese Ambassador Li Bin and demands an explanation for Chinese actions in shutting down a news conference by ROK legislators at a Beijing hotel. The Chinese government says domestic law bans news conferences not approved in advance.
: As GNP lawmakers start a news conference in a Beijing hotel about North Korean refugees, microphones and lights are turned off and security officials charge in, pushing and shoving lawmakers and about 50 reporters out of the room.
: The Agricultural and Fishery Marketing Corp. (AFMC) announces that kimchi imports surged by 152.9 percent to 72,600 tons in 2004 from 28,700 tons in 2003, hitting an all-time high, due mainly to rising demand for low-priced Chinese kimchi.
: Four lawmakers from the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) travel to Yanji in northern China, where North Korean agents allegedly abducted a South Korean pastor in 2000.
: Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announces that China either imposed import restricting measures or initiated antidumping investigations on 21 Korean items last year.
: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao praises Seoul’s approach toward the North Korean nuclear issue during a meeting in Jakarta on the sidelines of a tsunami relief conference with South Korea’s PM Lee Hae-chan. Suggesting closer bilateral cooperation, Wen also said Seoul’s “peace and prosperity” policy was “essential” to both peace on the Korean Peninsula and the success of the Six-Party Talks.
: China Cultural Center, originally suggested during former PRC Prime Minister Zhu Rongji’s visit to Seoul in 2000, opens in downtown Seoul. It is the fourth of its kind, following centers in France, Egypt, and Malta.
: Canadian government confirms that 44 North Korean refugees who entered the Canadian embassy compound Sept. 29 have safely left for a third country.
: South Korea agrees to give nine rice-exporting countries greater access to its market in exchange for a 10-year extension of current tariff waivers. Negotiations on opening of the South Korean rice market were conducted over many months with nine different rice exporting countries, including China and the U.S.
: Representatives of the national fishery associations meet in Beijing and sign a plea for members to refrain from resorting to violence in fishing and marine emergencies.
: ROK Foreign Ministry officials criticize PRC decision to issue commemorative postage stamps featuring historic relics from the Goguryeo dynasty.
: LG Phillips LCD Co., the second-largest producer of liquid crystal displays, announces plans to invest $5.1 billion to build the world’s largest plant for flat panel televisions in China.
: Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd., China’s largest online game service provider, acquires 28.95 percent of Korean software developer Actoz Soft Co. for $91.7 million.
: PRC Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, South Korean President Roh, and Japan’s Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three meeting in Vientiane, Laos, release a joint action strategy for trilateral coordination to promote stability and development in Northeast Asia.
: PRC Minister of Education Zhou Ji and PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin attend a ceremony for the opening of the Confucius Institute in Seoul, the first overseas PRC government-sponsored Chinese language school. State Councilor Chen Zhili met ROK Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan to discuss bilateral educational exchanges.
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun meets with PRC President Hu Jintao at the APEC meeting in Santiago to discuss ways to reconvene the Six-Party Talks as quickly as possible.
: Vice President of the Presidium of the DPRK Yang Hyong Sop meets with a delegation led by PRC Vice President of the China Association for International Friendly Contact Xing Yunming in Pyongyang.
: LG Chem Company announces that it has set up a plant in Guangzhou to manufacture petrochemicals for industrial products, such as auto and electronic components.
: NCsoft Corporation, the world’s largest online game company, offers commercial release of its popular online game Lineage II in the PRC.
: PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei meet Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong-Il of the DPRK to discuss cooperation between the two neighbors, the Six-Party Talks, and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
: Reports circulate that the PRC has forcefully repatriated over 70 North Koreans captured while planning a forced entry into diplomatic compounds in Beijing.
: ROK Ministry of Construction and Transportation assigns new Taiwan flight routes to Korean Air and Asiana to resume regular flights to Taipei that had been suspended since the ROK’s diplomatic recognition of the PRC in 1992.
: PRC Vice Minister of Commerce Zhang Zhigang announces that his ministry has proposed the joint publication of a white paper on logistics development with South Korea and Japan. The paper is designed to smooth commodity flows in Northeast Asia.
: The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade warns that Korean automotive parts makers will face stiffer competition with Chinese counterparts as Chinese companies pursue export-oriented strategies.
: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation signs a final deal with creditors of Ssangyong Motors to take over the operation, spending about $500 million to acquire a controlling 48.9 percent stake in the company.
: PRC police raid a North Korean refugee shelter in Beijing and take into custody over 65 defectors believed to be planning a forced entry into a diplomatic compound or international school in Beijing.
: Goguryeo Research Foundation meets to discuss China’s motives in pressing its claims to the historical origins of Goguryeo Kingdom.
: Some 18 North Korean refugees attempt to enter the ROK consulate in Beijing. Only three can take shelter inside, the others are arrested by Chinese security police or flee.
: China Daily reports the visit to the DPRK of a delegation from the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army to hold memorial activities, set up a China-DPRK education effort, promote China-DPRK commercial connections, and establish long-term communication channels for veterans between the two nations.
: POSCO announces that it has begun production at the POSCO Suzhou Automotive Processing Center Company in Jiangsu Province. The factory is the largest in China with an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons.
: DPRK Prime Minister Kim Yong-nam meets with Chinese leaders in Beijing and Tianjin to discuss ways to expand China-DPRK cooperation and friendship.
: Kyodo News Agency reports, the PRC has confirmed to other parties in the Six-Party Talks its assessment that the DPRK has a uranium enrichment program.
: ROK government confirms that 107 metric tons of sodium cyanide, a key ingredient in the manufacture of nerve gas, was sent to North Korea via China in 2003.
: LG Chem Ltd. announces plans to double its production capacity in China of polyvinyl chloride and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, two key petrochemicals with a wide range of industrial uses, to 1 million tons and 700,000 tons, respectively.
: ROK Ministry of Finance and Economy announces that government approval will be required before hi-tech companies can invest overseas or to be acquired by foreign firms. The regulation is motivated by growing fears that investment in and from China is eroding South Korea’s comparative advantage in key hi-tech industries.
: Author Scott Snyder and SoRhym Lee are married in Seoul.
: Central Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il meets in Pyongyang with a senior communist party delegation from the PRC led by Li Changchun, who informs the DPRK leadership that China would continue to provide development assistance to North Korea.
: Hyundai Motor Company announces plan to complete the construction of a second passenger car plant by late next year at a site near Beijing.
: Seoul and Taipei sign an aviation agreement to reopen regular airline services by national flag carriers for the first time since 1992.
: Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Jia Qinglin arrives in Seoul for consultations marking the rapid expansion of China-South Korea economic relations.
: The 12th anniversary of the establishment of normal relations between the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China.
: Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei visits Seoul and negotiates a five-point verbal accord with ROK counterparts to bring under control the dispute over historical interpretations of the significance of the Goguryeo kingdom as part of China’s and Korea’s respective national histories.
: Shanghai Automotive Company begins conducting due diligence on the Ssangyong Motor Company in preparation for its purchase from Ssangyong’s creditors.
: A Korea Herald survey of South Korean National Assembly members shows 80 percent as naming the U.S. as Korea’s most important diplomatic relationship, with 5.7 percent of members choosing China. Only 12 members of the ruling party chose China, in contrast to an April poll in which 63 percent of ruling party members identified China as South Korea’s most important diplomatic partner.
: ROK Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan authorizes the Cabinet to pursue efforts to respond to the Chinese claim to the Goguryeo Dynasty as part of its history.
: ROK government officials and lawmakers agree to form an inter-agency committee to respond to China’s historical claims regarding Goguryeo.
: Fifty-two ruling and opposition party members issue a resolution in response to China’s historical claims regarding the Goguryeo kingdom.
: South Korean Director General for Asia-Pacific Affairs Park Joon-woo is dispatched to Beijing to discuss the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ decision to delete pre-1948 references to Korean history from its official website, among other issues.
: Shanghai Automotive President Hu Mao Yuan signs memorandum of understanding to buy Ssangyong’s 48.9 percent stake and offers reassurances to labor union leaders regarding his intent to secure jobs and steady investment in the company.
: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation is selected as the preferred bidder to take over Ssangyong Automotive Company from its creditors. Bidding was reopened last June after a bid by China National Bluestar Corporation failed due to Ssangyong Motor Company labor union opposition.
: “Korean Wave 2004,” showcasing Korean culture with an Andre Kim fashion show and leading Korean pop stars such as BoA, Lee Jung-hyun, Kang Ta, NRG, and Dongbangshingi, held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
: A series of hacking incidents that penetrated 211 computers at 10 different ROK government agencies was reported to have emanated from China, sparking a major government investigation and raising ROK concerns about cybersecurity.
: Third round of six-party talks is held in Beijing.
: Second round of working-level consultations for six-party talks is held in Beijing.
: PRC, Japan, and Korea reach agreement to jointly develop home networking technology, promoting standards for interoperatbility among home-electronic devices, according to the South Korean Ministry of Information and Communication.
: Sinsegae Co. unveils its plan to open 50 E-mart stores by 2012. One store has already opened in Shanghai, with a second planned to open next month.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade reveals that seven North Korean defectors detained in PRC jails who had initiated a hunger strike were deported to the DPRK.
: Korea Food and Drug Administration reveals that Chinese subcontracting factories for Korean dumpling manufacturers provided spoiled chopped radishes to Korean “mandu” manufacturers, creating a public uproar and backlash.
: Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency announces that mergers and acquisitions are emerging as a preferred vehicle for entering into the China market.
: The Annual Congress of Korean History Societies discusses “historical disputes in an era of globalization,” featuring the confrontation between China and Korea over historical origins of the Goguryeo Kingdom (34 B.C.-A.D. 668).
: The International Symposium on Northeast Asian Region Electrical System Ties is held to discuss ways of connecting the power grids of six countries in Northeast Asia.
: Korean, Japanese, and China development banks sign a memorandum of understanding to establish a cooperative body to finance infrastructure projects in Northeast Asia.
: Finance ministers of Japan, China, and South Korea meet on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank meeting in Seoul to discuss enhanced regional financial cooperation measures, including establishment of currency swaps.
: ROK and PRC begin bilateral negotiations on South Korea’s opening of its rice market as required under the WTO’s Uruguay Round.
: First round of working-level consultations for six-party talks held in Beijing.
: Korean Football Association warns fans not to attend matches in China following incident in which “Red Devils” supporters were injured by debris thrown by Chinese fans.
: DaimlerChrysler AG decides to sell its $940 millon stake in Hyundai Motor Company and to open production of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars in the PRC.
: The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) falls 5.75 percent in response to “China shock,” a PRC government announcement that it will take “forceful” measures to rein in excessive economic growth. ROK acting President Goh Kun convenes a meeting to monitor and prepare for other possible adverse measures connected with China’s economic slowdown.
: Sinochem Corporation, China’s largest petrochemicals trader, selected as the preferred bidder for bankrupt Inchon Oil Refinery Company on a $561 million offer to acquire the Korean oil refiner.
: DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-il makes unannounced visit to Beijing to discuss the nuclear issue and other matters with PRC President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders.
: Internet game portal group NHN Corp. (ROK) and SeaRainbow Holding Corp. (PRC) sign a cooperative agreement whereby NHN would invest $100 million to develop new game content for the global market, targeting China’s over 80 million online subscribers.
: The Korea Cosmetic Industry Association announces 31.5 percent growth in exports to China to over $17 million, to make China Korea’s largest overseas export market in cosmetic products.
: The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announces that China has promised to simplify handling of North Korean defectors and South Korean POWs who want to come to South Korea.
: Samsung Electronics Company announces that it has moved all domestic microwave oven production facilities overseas, due to price competition from China.
: ROK Ministry of Information and Communications announces an agreement with Chinese and Japanese counterparts to work together to promote the development of open-source computer operating systems such as Linux.
: ROK FM Ban meets with Chinese FM Li in Beijing to discuss progress in dealing with the North Korean nuclear crisis.
: ROK FM Ban meets with Chinese FM Li in Beijing to discuss progress in dealing with the North Korean nuclear crisis.
: International conference on historical interpretations and artifacts from the Koguryo Dynasty held in Seoul.
: International conference on historical interpretations and artifacts from the Koguryo Dynasty held in Seoul.
: Reports indicate about 100 North Korean refugees launch a hunger strike at a Chinese detention facility in the border city of Tumen.
: Reports indicate about 100 North Korean refugees launch a hunger strike at a Chinese detention facility in the border city of Tumen.
: PRC FM Li travels to Pyongyang to meet with senior DPRK leaders, including National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il.
: PRC FM Li travels to Pyongyang to meet with senior DPRK leaders, including National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il.
: PRC officials release freelance photographer Seok Jae-hyun on parole. Seok had been jailed in the PRC for 14 months on charges of assisting in “human trafficking” as part of an effort to send North Korean refugees by boat from Yantai, China to South Korea.
: PRC officials release freelance photographer Seok Jae-hyun on parole. Seok had been jailed in the PRC for 14 months on charges of assisting in “human trafficking” as part of an effort to send North Korean refugees by boat from Yantai, China to South Korea.
: Korean authorities in Cheju Island seize six PRC fishing boats for operating in Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
: Korean authorities in Cheju Island seize six PRC fishing boats for operating in Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
: PRC FM Li Zhaoxing mentions at a press conference that a possible visit to South Korea by President Hu Jintao is being discussed by the two governments.
: PRC FM Li Zhaoxing mentions at a press conference that a possible visit to South Korea by President Hu Jintao is being discussed by the two governments.
: South Korea’s state-funded Research Center for Koguryo History is established with an annual budget of $9 million.
: South Korea’s state-funded Research Center for Koguryo History is established with an annual budget of $9 million.
: Second round of six-party talks is held in Beijing.
: Second round of six-party talks is held in Beijing.
: PRC Vice FM Wang Yi consults with South Korean officials including ROK FM Ban Ki-moon in Seoul in preparation for the second round of six-party talks.
: PRC Vice FM Wang Yi consults with South Korean officials including ROK FM Ban Ki-moon in Seoul in preparation for the second round of six-party talks.
: ROK Financial Supervisory Commission and the China Banking Regulatory Commission sign an MOU to promote cooperation in regulating Korean and Chinese banks that establish overseas branches in each other’s countries.
: ROK Financial Supervisory Commission and the China Banking Regulatory Commission sign an MOU to promote cooperation in regulating Korean and Chinese banks that establish overseas branches in each other’s countries.
: Korea Industrial Technology Foundation forecasts that China will narrow its technology gap with South Korea in mobile phones and flat-panel displays within the next six years.
: Korea Industrial Technology Foundation forecasts that China will narrow its technology gap with South Korea in mobile phones and flat-panel displays within the next six years.
: ROK Ministry of Finance and Economy announces that China was Korea’s preferred foreign investment destination, with investments of $2.49 billion representing 45.8 percent of South Korea’s total overseas investment.
: ROK Ministry of Finance and Economy announces that China was Korea’s preferred foreign investment destination, with investments of $2.49 billion representing 45.8 percent of South Korea’s total overseas investment.
: Comments by Culture Minister Lee Chang-dong that the debate over the history of the Koguryo dynasty should be handled through private means ignite strong criticisms from Korean NGOs that the ROK government is failing to defend Korea’s position and history.
: Comments by Culture Minister Lee Chang-dong that the debate over the history of the Koguryo dynasty should be handled through private means ignite strong criticisms from Korean NGOs that the ROK government is failing to defend Korea’s position and history.
: The Korean Veterans Association calls on the government to bring to Seoul three North Korean escapees in China who are reportedly former South Korean soldiers taken prisoner by northern troops during the Korean War.
: Former South Korean prisoner of war 72-year old Jeon Yong-Il is sent to Seoul by Chinese authorities following his arrest for using a fake passport in an attempt to gain asylum in South Korea.
: A Chinese appeals court upholds a lower court ruling in Yantai sentencing Seok Jae-hyun to two years in prison, a 5,000 yuan fine, and confiscated photography equipment for attempting to smuggle North Koreans out of China.
: Ssangyong Motor Company’s creditors approve China’s Nanxing Group, a company specializing in the chemicals industry, as the preferred bidder to take a 55.4 percent stake in the company despite the Nanxing Group’s lack of experience in automotive production.
: Seoul District Prosecutor’s office arrests Lee Jung-jae, former ROK consul general in Hong Kong, for participating in a visa selling ring that illegally sold 265 South Korean visas between March 2000 and Feb. 2001 for approximately $227,200.
: South Korean pastor Choi Jong-il is sentenced to nine years in prison in China for trying to assist North Korean refugees to defect to Seoul from Yanji, Jilin Province.
: Yonhap reports that the ROK government is planning to launch an international study group on the historical origins and role of the Goguryeo Dynasty in response to Chinese claims that the dynasty was established by one of China’s ethnic minorities. South Korean civic groups also demand that the ROK government support North Korea’s bid to include Goguryeo tomb murals on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.
: The Justice Ministry announced that it has no plans to grant Korean citizenship to ethnic Korean-Chinese who are currently residing in the ROK and who have lodged a constitutional petition to demand they be granted legal status in South Korea.
: The Justice Ministry announces that it would accept applications for Korean citizenship by all Korean-Chinese whose names remain on the domestic family registry in response to protests by Korean-Chinese in the context of new labor laws designed to crack down on illegal workers.
: President Roh Moo-hyun visits protesting ethnic Korean Chinese and expresses sympathy for their plight on the 16th day of an illegal hunger strike by over 2,400 ethnic Koreans at eight churches in Seoul.
: North Korea and China sign “a treaty of cooperation in the enforcement of civil and criminal laws.”
: The Ministry of Information and Communication announces that Korea and China have agreed to join hands in developing fourth-generation mobile communication technology.
: Amidst pending ROK government plans to deport illegal workers, more than 5,000 Korean-Chinese, most of whom are illegal residents, present a petition to the Constitutional Court, calling for the government to grant them Korean citizenship.
: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Kim Jong-hwan makes a five-day trip to China for talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.
: Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo arrives in Seoul for a four-day visit to consult the South Korean government on ways to facilitate six-party talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and China’s Wu Bangguo “agreed in principle to continue to hold six-party talks.”
: Donald Tsang, chief secretary for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, meets with ROK National Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong and others during a three day visit to Seoul he stressed Hong Kong’s role as a strategic partner for South Koreans doing business on the Chinese mainland.
: Barclays Capital reports that a collapse of North Korea’s regime will not necessarily lead to a downgrade in Korea’s sovereign credit ratings, and may in fact turn the Korean Peninsula into a new Asian economic power.
: The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency urges the government and private companies to be better prepared against copyright infringement in China targeting Korean intellectual properties from music albums to telecom brand names.
: China lifts its ban on the import of Korean livestock, nearly a year and a half after a few cases of foot-and-mouth disease were reported in the country.
: Leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea meet in Bali at ASEAN Plus Three gathering and agree to expand cooperation beyond economic fields to security and broader exchanges.
: The ROK Commerce Ministry announces that China has officially become Korea’s No. 1 export destination, surpassing the U.S. for the first time.
: Federation of Korean Industries departs for 50th anniversary celebration of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce in Beijing and to discuss establishment of Korea-China business council conference.
: National Security Advisor Ra Jong-il visits China for consultations on the North Korean nuclear issue and regional security matters.
: At an IT ministers’ conference on Cheju Island, South Korea, China, and Japan agree on joint research and cooperation in seven information technology fields as part of efforts to turn Northeast Asia into a global IT hub.
: The Chinese government is considering reducing its antidumping tariff for Korean steel products, Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announces.
: PRC National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo visits South Korea at the invitation of National Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong and meets with ROK President Roh.
: PRC hosts first-ever six-party multilateral dialogue on North Korea’s nuclear program in Beijing.
: The Korea Electric Power Corporation announces that it has finalized its first contract to build two 50,000-kilowatt power plants in China, at Henan Province.
: Two PRC delegations headed by Xu Caihou, member of the secretariat of the CCP Central Committee and director of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army and Liu Hongcai, deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Central Committee, travel to Pyongyang for discussions in preparation for six party talks, including meetings with National Defense Commission First Vice Chairman Jo Myong-rok and a photo session with Kim Jong-il.
: PRC FM Li Zhaoxing visits Seoul to brief FM Yoon Young-kwan on preparations for the six-party dialogue to be held in Beijing.
: ROK Minister of Culture Lee Chang-dong makes his first visit to Beijing for ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Ministers meeting and to host a music concert featuring many leading K-pop celebrities.
: DPRK Ambassador to Russia announces North Korea’s willingness to participate in six-party dialogue to be held in Beijing.
: Taiwan’s China External Trade Development Council announces that it would set up an office in Seoul in September.
: Vice FM Dai visits Washington to discuss prospects for dialogue regarding North Korea’s nuclear program.
: Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo visits Pyongyang for over six hours of talks with National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il regarding the prospects for dialogue regarding North Korea’s nuclear program.
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun visits Beijing and Shanghai for his first set of meetings with China’s President Hu Jintao and senior Chinese officials.
: Ruling party President Chyung Dai-chul meets with President Hu in Beijing and urges him to hold a summit with North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-il to persuade North Korea to accept multilateral talks.
: Samsung Electronics announces plans to set up a computer memory chip research and development center in Suzhou, China.
: Korea International Trade Association announces that $30.33 million of kimchi exports in the first four months of 2003 are on track for a record performance, outstripping prior year exports by 38.4 percent.
: A study of the Korean Federation of Textile Industries projects that China’s textile exports in 2005 are likely to compose 50 percent of the global textile and apparel market.
: ROK FM Yoon and PRC FM Li discuss the North Korean nuclear issue on the sidelines of the ARF in Phnom Penh.
: Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency projects that losses to Korean investors in China due to SARS will reach $2.5 billion by the end of June.
: Tianshan Industrial Company Ltd., announces that Korean firms will participate in a construction project to build the largest high-tech industrial park in Hebei Province, a 660,000 sq. meter project to be completed by 2005 known as the Tianshan Science and Technology Industrial Park.
: Korean businessmen and students start to return to China after the subsiding of the SARS epidemic.
: Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency announces that Korean exporters have aggressively expanded their share of exports to China from 5.16 percent to 9.68 percent during the past decade.
: Two South Koreans, including New York Times photographer Seok Jae-hyun and human rights activist Choi Young-hoon, are among five people sentenced to prison terms of up to five years for helping a group of North Korean defectors board a ship to Korea from Yantai, China.
: ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy announces that Korean investment in China in the first quarter increased by 120 percent year-on-year to $310 million. Korean investment in China was 39.8 percent of Korea’s total overseas investment during this period.
: PRC Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi travels to Seoul to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue with senior South Korean officials, including South Korean counterpart Kim Jae-sup.
: According to the British daily Independent, North Korea has quarantined 20 foreigners and closed its borders to prevent SARS from entering North Korea. Air Koryo canceled its twice weekly flight to Beijing.
: Samsung Electronics announces that it is delaying the opening of its second household appliances plant in Suzhou, Zhangzhou Province, due to SARS.
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun and PRC President Hu agree to continue efforts to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis in a telephone conversation.
: ASEAN Plus Three meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on SARS.
: PRC hosts talks with the U.S. and the DPRK on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
: The Korean Sharing Movement announces that the DPRK has asked South Korean humanitarian organizations to delay visits to Pyongang due to precautions taken as a result of SARS.
: PRC President Hu Jintao meets with Deputy Chairman of the DPRK Defense Commission Gen. Cho Myong-rok.
: PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin says that the PRC does not intend to mediate between the U.S. and North Korea and that any issues regarding the Peninsula should be resolved between the two Koreas.
: Reports circulate that the PRC will host talks on North Korea’s nuclear program in Beijing including the U.S. and North Korea April 23-25. PRC press spokesman Liu Jianchao clarifies that China is not opposed to “relevant countries” taking part in multilateral talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.
: ROK Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan meets PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Beijing. Both sides agree to cooperate in establishing a multilateral dialogue including North Korea to resolve nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
: Korean Air and Asiana Airlines announce that they are temporarily cutting back or halting flights to areas of mainland China affected by SARS.
: Korean firms including Samsung, POSCO, and LG initiate steps to recall or restrict travel by employees to SARS-affected areas of China and Southeast Asia.
: South Korea announces that it will send National Security Advisor Ra Jong-yil to China and Russia to gain support for peacefully solving North Korea’s nuclear crisis.
: ROK PM Koh Gun meets with Chinese Ambassador Li Bin in Seoul to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation vis-à-vis the North Korean nuclear issue.
: North Korea’s request for weapons to prepare for “the U.S. military threat,” is turned down by China.
: KOTRA launches a special “China Business School” course designed to educate Korean businesses about specialized topics regarding trade and investment with China.
: China’s UN Ambassador Wang Yingfan states that efforts are being made to draw the U.S. and North Korea together for dialogue, and opposes Security Council involvement “at this stage.”
: Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan states that direct talks need to be held between the U.S. and North Korea in order to resolve the nuclear crisis, and that the PRC supports a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
: Korea Industrial Technology Foundation (KOTEF) and Shanghai Science and Technology Development and Exchange Center (STDEC) announce plans to hold an information-technology forum.
: A 73-year-old Korean man by the name of Park who had been incarcerated in Harbin on drug trafficking charges was released and allowed to return to South Korea. Of 100 South Korean nationals held in Chinese jails at the end of 2002, 28 were being held on drug charges, and six have been sentenced to death.
: Two of 10 refugees from North Korea arrived in Seoul, while the other eight were repatriated to North Korea from China, according to the Human Rights Coalition for North Korean Refugees.
: Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) officials meet in Beijing with Chinese and Japanese counterparts at the “Strategic Conference for Expanding Exports to Japan and China” as part of efforts to realize Korea’s vision of becoming a regional hub in northeast Asia.
: Vice Premier Qian leads Chinese delegation to Roh Moo-hyun’s inauguration.
: The Korea Automotive Research Institute announces that China has overtaken Korea as the sixth largest global producer of automobiles in 2002.
: Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen meets with members of ROK President-elect Roh Moo-hyun’s team, and states importance of a stable Korean Peninsula.
: China rejects U.S. calls for greater involvement in diplomacy to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons program stating, “the key to resolving this issue is the resumption of dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.”
: The Korea Small and Medium Business Institute announces the results of a survey of 178 small- to medium-sized enterprises, 72.2 percent of whom hope to invest in China within five years.
: Kia Motors announces a month-to-month rise of 164 percent to almost 5,000 units in January on the strength of its new model for the Chinese market, the Qianlima.
: The Korea International Trade Association’s “Trend and Outlook of China’s Import Control Against Korean Exporters,” reveals that China targets South Korea for import restrictions more than any other country.
: ROK Ministry of Construction and Transportation announces that it will positively consider forming a sea and air logistics link with China to promote the establishment of a tariff-free zone at Incheon International Airport.
: Chinese police arrest 48 North Korean asylum-seekers and three aid workers in Shandong province.
: PRC and ROK immediately condemn Japanese PM Koizumi’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
: KEPCO signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Luoyang Shengsheng Power Company to build two thermal power plants.
: ROK Deputy FM Lee Tae-shik meets with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing to discuss diplomatic approaches to North Korea.
: Hyundai Motors China and Beijing Automotive Holding Company Limited launch sales of the EF Sonata in China, with expectations to sell over 80,000 units in 2003.
: Roh Moo-hyun elected next president of the Republic of Korea.
: ROK Ministry of Construction and Transportation announces that Korean Air will resume direct flights to Taipei after a decade following the rupture of diplomatic relations with Taipei.
: Representatives from Korea, Japan, and China gather in Tokyo to discuss details of the proposed professional soccer championships involving the three Northeast Asian countries.
: Police in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea said yesterday they broke up a 20-member human smuggling ring suspected of sneaking Chinese and ethnic Koreans from China into the country.
: A fishing vessel carrying 55 ethnic Koreans and other people from China is caught by maritime police off the western coast while attempting to smuggle migrants into the country. On the same day, Seoul’s Guro Police Station arrests eight ethnic Koreans from China for blackmailing and assaulting fellow Korean Chinese in the Seoul metropolitan area.
: Shinsegae Co. establishes a joint venture with Shanghai Join Bui Co. to open the Shanghai E-mart Super Center Company, a discount consumer goods chain of stores. On the same day, Ahnlab Inc. (www.ahnlab.com), a leading computer virus vaccine developer in Korea, announces a contract valued at $2.38 million with SUNV, a Chinese software provider, to export anti-virus engine and vaccine software programs.
: China imposes punitive duties against five categories of Korean steel products, including hot-rolled plates, cold-rolled plates, color plates, electric plates, and stainless cold-rolled sheets through May 23, 2005.
: The South Korean prosecutor’s office announces that it is tracing the assets of two former consular officials stationed in China after they had been indicted along with other government employees and brokers in a bribes-for-visas scandal.
: Korea and China reach an accord on the fishing quota for 2003, giving Korean vessels an extension of the same 60,000 ton limit inside China’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) while the quota for Chinese vessels fishing in the Korean EEZ is reduced from 109,600 tons to 93,000 in 2003.
: The Cabinet approves a regulation allowing ethnic Koreans from China to work in service industries, under F-1 visas for “visiting and joining families,” even if they have no kin in Korea. The visa will allow ethnic Koreans from China to stay for up to two years, with unlimited extensions.
: Twenty North Korean refugees who had sought refuge in the South Korean consulate in Beijing since mid-September arrive in Seoul.
: A North Korean delegation holds discussions with Chinese counterparts in Beijing regarding the fate of Sinuiju Special Administrative Region head Yang Bin.
: In a protest letter to the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng expresses regret over the ROK Justice Ministry’s alleged threat that Xu Bo would face deportation unless he stops actively promoting democracy in China.
: The South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy announces that the Korea Industrial Complex Corp. (KICC) signed an agreement with Dandong City to build an industrial complex by 2003 exclusively for Korean manufacturing companies.
: Yang Bin, chosen by North Korea (DPRK) to administer North Korea’s special administrative region, is detained by Chinese authorities on suspicion of tax evasion.
: South Korea arrests 162 people on charges of smuggling Chinese-made narcotics into Korea and selling them to domestic drug users in the country’s biggest-ever drug bust.
: Chief of the General Staff of the PRC People’s Liberation Army Gen. Fu Zuanyou arrives in Seoul for a five-day bilateral exchange visit.
: Thirty-six asylum-seekers, including 15 who sought asylum at a German school and 21 who sought asylum at the South Korean consulate, arrive in Seoul.
: PRC Ambassador Li Bin delivers a $20,000 donation from the Chinese Red Cross to provide relief for Korean victims of Typhoon Rusa.
: Taegu District Public Prosecutors detain eight people on charges of smuggling 223,140 counterfeit Viagra tablets from China during a six-month period from February to August.
: Fifteen North Korean asylum-seekers take refuge at a German school. Negotiations ensue to determine whether the school qualifies as diplomatic property.
: Chinese security police ransack the home office of a Chosun Ilbo reporter for clues regarding South Korean NGOs that are assisting North Korean asylum-seekers.
: Opposition GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang visits China and meets with top leaders including PRC President Jiang, who pledges to solve the North Korean defector issue from a “humanitarian perspective.”
: Two men are arrested at Incheon International Airport on charges of smuggling into Korea two kilograms of methamphetamine worth over $5 million.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade opposes repatriation of seven North Korean defectors arrested for demonstrating in front of Chinese Foreign Ministry regarding their circumstances in China.
: ROK Vice Defense Minister Kwon Young-hyo visits China to discuss bilateral military cooperation and regional security.
: Incheon International Airport announces that China surpassed Japan as the destination with the most flights from Korea during the peak summer season.
: PRC President Jiang Zemin and ROK President Kim Dae-jung exchange congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the normalization of China-ROK relations.
: ROK National Fisheries Products Inspection Service announces that excess amounts of mercury were found in freshwater eels imported from China.
: Eleven North Korean refugees who had claimed asylum at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing over the previous month arrive in Seoul.
: PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visits Seoul for meetings with ROK Foreign Minister Choi, to discuss how to enhance bilateral ties. The PRC approves the ROK’s request to open a consular office in Shenyang.
: Korean Trade Commission Chairman Junn Sung-chull resigns to take responsibility for South Korean failures in negotiations over garlic imports.
: ASEAN Plus Three meeting in Brunei. On the sidelines, PRC, ROK and Japanese foreign ministers agree to meet annually and to expand economic and human exchanges.
: ROK Foreign Minister Choi-Sung-hong attends ASEAN Regional Forum meting in Brunei along with his Chinese and other East Asia counterparts.
: The ROK Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announces that it will invest 1.8 trillion won into the local garlic farming sector over the next five years following a firestorm of criticism that the Korean government failed to act transparently during garlic negotiations with China, under which South Korea will be open to Chinese garlic imports from Jan. 1, 2003.
: An eight-member delegation of the People’s Liberation Army led by Lt. Gen. Zhang Wengtai visits South Korea to discuss bilateral military exchanges.
: Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Han Duck-soo and Vice Agriculture and Forestry Minister So Kyu-ryung resign to take responsibility for the government’s alleged concealment of an agreement with China to open the Korean market to Chinese garlic imports from Jan. 1, 2003.
: The Office of Government Policy Coordination announces that ethnic Koreans from China may be hired to work in the service industry.
: Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) signs a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Construction Bank to help it to dispose of bad loans.
: South Korean government officials express concern that the Chinese government will give severe punishments to three South Korean missionaries detained on charges of helping to smuggle North Korean defectors out of the country.
: Twenty-six North Korean defectors, including 23 who had sought asylum at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, arrive in Seoul. On the same day, a North Korean woman enters the South Korean Embassy and requests asylum.
: The Bank of Korea signs a currency swap agreement worth $2 billion with China as part of measures to prevent the recurrence of another Asian financial crisis.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong and PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan hold talks on the North Korean defectors issue on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Cha-am, Thailand.
: South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy announces that it is holding talks with the Chinese government to set up a complex for Korean manufacturers at Dandong, across the Yalu River from Sinuiju, on the North Korea-China border.
: Formosa Plastics Group (Taiwan) Chairman Wang Yung-ching visits North Korea to explore possible investments in North Korea.
: Chinese public security officials enter the South Korean compound and forcibly remove one of 23 North Korean asylum seekers, stimulating a firestorm of protest in Seoul.
: A Korean man is detained at Incheon Airport for smuggling one kilogram of methamphetamines on a flight from Yantian China.
: Nine North Korean defectors enter the South Korean compound in Beijing, bringing to 17 the total number of asylum-seekers housed at the compound.
: Three North Korean defectors enter the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and two additional defectors enter the South Korean Embassy in Beijing.
: A study by China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) reveals that South Korea was involved in 15 of 19 antidumping investigations China has launched against imports during the past five years.
: Two Chinese tourists disappear after watching the China-Costa Rica World Cup soccer match in Kwangju.
: China publicly claims rights to three asylum-seekers who took refuge in the South Korean compound, arguing that the matter is one for Beijing and Pyongyang and not for Seoul and signaling that defectors to South Korean diplomatic compounds would be treated differently from other cases.
: China slaps duties on half of its annual steel imports as a market protection measure. Korean officials call for negotiations with China on the issue.
: The first North Korean refugees enter the South Korean compound, triggering talks between South Korea and China on how to handle these requests.
: The South Korean consulate draws criticism from human-rights activists by turning away a man who claimed to be a North Korean refugee. On the same day, two North Korean refugees who sought asylum at the Canadian Embassy arrive in Seoul.
: Three North Korean defectors who had sought asylum at the U.S. consulate in Shenyang arrive in Seoul via Singapore.
: Chinese government mission from Shandong’s Weihai province sends a 1,000-member economic mission to Seoul, according to the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Jeon Yun-Churl meets with Chinese counterparts to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and to participate in a tripartite meeting of finance ministers from South Korea, China, and Japan. The Korea-China Investment Cooperation Committee is launched in Seoul under the chairmanship of the Korean and Chinese finance ministers.
: Five North Korean asylum-seekers enter the Japanese consulate in Shenyang, despite Chinese attempts to retrieve them from the consulate. Video of the incident sparks severe criticism of China’s handling of North Korean asylum-seekers.
: South Korean government opposes a visit to Seoul by Taiwan’s First Lady Wu Shu-chen at the invitation of the Korea Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities, arguing that such a visit would contradict South Korea’s “one China” policy.
: Korean Air announces expanded flight service to China to 12 cities on 16 different routes 82 times per week. Korean Air anticipates over 1 million passengers on China-bound flights for the first time in 2002.
: Two South Korean missionaries, Cheon Ki-won of “Durihana Mission” and Pastor Choi Bong-il, were announced to have been detained in China for their activities assisting North Korean defectors and providing them with shelter.
: South Korea, Japan, and China agree to form a yellow dust monitoring network in talks among environment ministers from the three countries held in Seoul.
: The Federation of Korean Industries calls on the South Korean government to urge China to ease restrictions on business activities of foreign companies in a meeting with Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Energy Shin Kook-hwan.
: Air China Flight 129 from Beijing to Pusan crashes in bad weather on approach to Pusan’s Kimhae Airport. Only 38 of 166 passengers, including the Chinese pilot, survive the crash.
: A group of 500 ethnic Korean Chinese in South Korea announces a hunger strike to protest the Seoul government’s plan to crack down on illegal aliens.
: The Korean Peninsula suffers its worst bout of “yellow dust” from China, with concentrations of fine dust particles measuring up to 2,070 micrograms per cubic meter (70 times the normal concentration).
: A candlelight vigil by some 1,000 Korean-Chinese workers in Seoul is held to protest South Korean government policies toward migrant workers.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong meets in Beijing with PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan to brief him on the purpose of a planned April 3-5 trip to Pyongyang by Lim Dong-won, President Kim Dae-jung’s special envoy, and to discuss disputes over China’s policy toward North Korean defectors hiding in China.
: North Korean defectors and human-rights activists protest China’s policy toward North Korean refugees in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, and threaten to launch a campaign to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
: The worst “yellow dust” storm in 18 years hits Seoul, leading to plant and school closings and posing a serious health hazard for Korean residents.
: Forty-three Chinese tourists disappear from their tour group after passing through customs at Incheon International Airport, sparking a nationwide search.
: Twenty-five North Korean defectors, supported by a coalition of international human-rights activists, enter the Spanish Embassy in Beijing and request asylum. PRC authorities promptly arrange for their transfer to the Philippines, with onward travel to Seoul.
: China refuses for the second time in two months to issue visas to South Korean lawmakers responsible for preparing a bill that would allow millions of ethnic Koreans into the country to visit and work in Korea freely.
: China completes a procedural investigation as a precursor to determining whether anti-dumping charges on Korean polyester stale fiber are warranted.
: Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun meets with Wang Jiarui, deputy head of the External Liaison Commission of China’s Communist Party, to discuss inter-Korean dialogue and Seoul-Beijing relations.
: Kim Ha-joong, the ROK ambassador to China, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi follow up ratification of an extradition treaty between the PRC and South Korea set to take effect April 11.
: The ROK Ministry of Information and Communication announces that Korea and China will sign a memorandum of understanding the next month on cooperation in fourth generation mobile communication technology.
: Seoul expresses concern to Beijing over a series of homicides in China involving Korean victims, calling for a thorough probe of the incidents.
: Business leaders from the ROK, Japan, and China announce they will launch the inaugural meeting of a joint business consultative body, tentatively named “Korea-Japan-China Business Forum,” during the second half of this year in Seoul.
: China’s customs bureau announces that South Korea was China’s sixth largest trading partner last year, after Japan, the United States, the European Union, Hong Kong, and ASEAN.
: Chinese authorities arrest a North Korean defector with South Korean citizenship at an airport in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, when he tried to board a flight for South Korea with his daughter and granddaughter, who did not have proper travel documents.
: Maritime police arrest 20 Korean-Chinese who attempted to illegally enter Korea from Dalian, PRC, at the port of Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.
: Incheon International Airport Customs will toughen drug surveillance in response to drug smuggling, most of which is suspected to involve methamphetamines smuggled from China.
: The Korea Economic Research Institute projects that a three-way free trade agreement with Japan and China would improve Korea’s trade balance by $12 billion annually.
: Seoul City plans to develop a “little Chinatown” in selected districts in western Seoul, building upon a Chinese community there.
: South Korean Minister of Information and Communications Yang Sung-taek announces that Korea will participate in China’s second bid for CDMA equipment in the first quarter of the year with mobile telecom equipment based on the cdma200-1x format.
: National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup meets with Chinese leaders in Beijing to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and Sino-South Korean relations.
: South Korea slashes tariffs on 250 imported products from China by about 30 percent and China cuts tariff rates by 3.6 percentage points on 691 Korean products in accordance with China’s joining the Bangkok Agreement.
: The Yeosu maritime police in South Jeolla Province hand over 35 Chinese illegal immigrants and the ashes of 13 individuals who suffocated on a boat while trying to enter China in early October. Another 12 victims remain unaccounted for.
: Beijing City Vice Mayor Liu Zhihwa arrives in Seoul to discuss coordination for international sporting events such as the 2002 World Cup and the Beijing Olympics and the possibility of establishing a Chinatown in Seoul.
: ROK Ministry of Information and Communication Kim Dong-sun announces following a visit with China Unicom Director Wang Jianzhou in Beijing that South Korea and China may jointly push for developing a wireless Internet platform in the first half of next year.
: ROK Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin makes a one-week visit to China to meet with Chinese military and political leaders to discuss increased defense exchanges and cooperation.
: The ROK Ministry of Finance and Economy announces the easing of adjustment tariffs for imported seasoned cuttlefish, frozen pollack, loach, and cloth towels from China as part of an effort to lower trade friction with China.
: Newly-appointed PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin supports efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at the inaugural ceremony of the Korea-China Forum, composed of about 70 lawmakers.
: The PRC State Economic and Trade Commission ruled that polystyrene imports from South Korea, Japan, and Thailand do not damage related industries in China.
: The 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup soccer tournament first-round assignments are made in Busan. The Chinese national team is assigned to a first-round berth that will be played in Korea, with Chinese press reporting that 60,000-100,000 Chinese soccer fans may flock to Korea to see the national team play.
: The ROK Constitutional Court ruled that part of the 1999 Act on Overseas Ethnic Koreans unconstitutionally discriminated against ethnic Koreans from China and Russia, ordering the law to be amended by the end of 2003.
: Outgoing PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Wang Guozhang pays a farewell visit to Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium President Kim Yong-nam.
: Over 118 Korean small- and medium-size businesses are represented at the “Korea Product Show 2001,” held at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing in a KOTRA-sponsored attempt to promote Korean goods following the PRC’s WTO entry.
: The ROK recalls four consular officials based in China held responsible for failing to properly handle the case of an ROK national who was executed.
: ROK FM Han issues an apology at the National Assembly for his ministry’s failure to protect Korean nationals in the PRC following the execution of a Korean national convicted in PRC courts of drug smuggling.
: Samsung Electronics wins a $20 million order from China Unicom for code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems for 200,000 circuits in Hebei and Tianjin, China.
: At ASEAN Plus Three meeting in Brunei, President Kim, PRC Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro agree to establish a trilateral forum among economic ministers to strengthen economic cooperation.
: FM Tang and FM Han discuss diplomatic incident involving the execution of an ROK national in northeastern China.
: ROK retracts its protest that the PRC had failed to provide notification to the national government as stipulated by a 1963 Vienna Convention after receiving confirmation from the PRC government that Heilongjiang Province officials had notified the Korean consulate in Shenyang that Korean nationals had been arrested and held in custody on drug-related charges.
: ROK Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum and PRC State Development Planning Commission Chairman Zeng Peiyan meet in Seoul and agree to enhance economic cooperation in mobile services, finance, autos, nuclear power generation, and high-speed railway development.
: The ROK government requests that the PRC investigation allegations that two South Korean citizens imprisoned in the PRC on drug trafficking charges were denied rights to consular protection and were physically abused by Chinese authorities.
: President Kim expresses regret over Beijing’s execution of a South Korean citizen in late September without giving prior notification to the ROK government. ROK Foreign Ministry files official protest with PRC Embassy in Seoul.
: The PRC notifies the ROK Embassy in Beijing of the execution of a Korean national one month after his execution on Sept. 26 for drug trafficking.
: A South Korean destroyer, an escort, and a support ship make the South Korean Navy’s first port call to the PRC mainland in Shanghai.
: ROK President Kim Dae-jung meets with PRC President Jiang on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Shanghai.
: PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and ROK Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo discuss President Jiang Zemin’s early September visit to the DPRK on the sidelines of the APEC ministerial meeting in Shanghai.
: Twenty-five Chinese die among 60 stowaways seeking illegal entry into South Korea in a tiny storage room of a South Korean fishing boat off Jeju Island.
: NITGen (www.nitgen.com) signs contracts to export $16.5 million worth of fingerprint identification solutions to China.
: According to the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), Chinese products exported to global markets are rapidly challenging or surpassing their rival Korean products in competitiveness across the board.
: Korea Center for International Finance warns that a slowdown in the growth of China’s exports would take a huge toll on Korea since more than 80 percent of Korea’s exports to China are used in the manufacture of Chinese export products.
: Korean Customs Service announces that surveillance on drug smuggling will be toughened at Incheon International Airport.
: PRC President Jiang Zemin makes his first visit to Pyongyang in over a decade, symbolically restoring the PRC-DPRK relationship to normal status.
: South Korean consulate-general opens in Guangzhou to assist Korean companies operating in the region and help arrange personnel exchanges.
: ROK Ministry of Culture and Tourism announces measures to support the export of Korean pop culture to China and East Asia.
: Seoul establishes the China Experts Forum, consisting of about 30 prominent representatives from government, business, and academia, to develop long-term strategy to enhance trade and investment between the two countries.
: Korean chemical fiber manufacturers announce that they will send a delegation to China in a move to narrow losses from a Chinese dumping investigation on Korean polyester fibers and polyethylene terephthalate chips.
: Twenty-two executives of the ROK Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), led by FKI Chairman Kim Kak-choong, visit China to inspect the country’s latest economic developments and discuss bilateral cooperation toward the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
: Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou visits South Korea for talks with Seoul Mayor Goh Kun and other officials.
: The ROK Ministry of Construction and Transportation announces plans to resume negotiations with Taiwan over the reopening of the air route between the two countries, which was suspended in 1992 when South Korea established diplomatic ties with China.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi and agree that Seoul and Beijing should exert joint criticism to pressure Tokyo into revising its controversial history textbooks.
: South Korean Ministry of Justice announces that it would develop more humane policies for Korean Chinese and would work to stop corrupt practices and minimize human rights violations in the areas of labor and recruitment.
: Seoul Metropolitan Government award ceremony to honor winners of cyber-debate contest on how to solve city traffic and environmental problems is cancelled because it was discovered that the winner, Xu Bo, was a leader of the Tiananmen movement and applicant for refugee status in South Korea.