The Korean War Chronology

(and 11th) The State-War-Navy Committee meets to decide the terms of Japan's surrender in Korea. The 38th Parallel is the "arbitrarily" chosen as the dividing line for separating post-war American and Soviet occupation forces in Korea and dividing their respective spheres of influence. Ref

Sep 08

Korea is partitioned by the Soviet Union and the United States.

Ref: 2

Dec 27

In the aftermath of World War II, foreign ministers from the former Allied nations of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain agree to divide Korea into two separate occupation zones and govern the nation for five years.

Ref: 3

1948

Jan 23

The Soviets refuse UN entry into North Korea to administer elections.

Ref: 2

Mar 22

The United States announces a land reform plan for Korea.

Ref: 2

May 01

North Korea proclaims itself People's Democratic Republic of Korea.

Ref: 5

Jul 17

Proclamation of the constitution of the Republic of (South) Korea.

Ref: 5

Sep 09

The People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was created.

Ref: 5

Sep 11

North Korea proclaims itself a People's Democratic Republic under Kim il Sung.

Ref: 10

Sep 12

Korean People's Republic (North Korea) proclaimed.

Ref: 10

Sep 19

Moscow announces it will withdrawal soldiers from Korea by the end of the year.

Ref: 2

1949

Jun 28

The last U.S. combat troops are called home from Korea, leaving only 500 advisers.

Ref: 2

Jun 29

US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II.

Ref: 5

1950

May 03

The first round of prisoner exchanges between Communist and UN forces in Korea ends.

Ref: 17

Jun 25

The Korean War begins when North Korean forces launched an invasion across the 38th parallel into South Korea.

Ref: 25

Jun 27

UN Security Council calls on members for troops to aid South Korea.

Ref: 5

Jun 27

President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. (Go to article.)

Ref: 70

Jun 28

General Douglas MacArthur arrives in South Korea as Seoul falls to the North.

Ref: 2

Jun 29

President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.

Ref: 2

Jun 30

United States forces engage in the Korean War

Ref: 87

Jul 01

American ground troops arrive in South Korea to halt the advancing North Korean army.

Ref: 2

Jul 03

US carrier-based planes attack airfields in the Pyongyang-Chinnampo area of North Korea in the first air-strike of the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Jul 05

American forces engage the North Koreans for the first time at Osan, South Korea.

Ref: 2

Jul 05

Private Kenneth Shadrick of Skin Fork, WV, became the first US serviceman to die in the Korean War.

Ref: 6

Jul 08

Gen Douglas MacArthur named commander-in-chief, UN forces in Korea.

Ref: 5

Jul 08

Leroy Deans awarded first Order of Purple Heart in Korea.

Ref: 5

Jul 09

General Douglas MacArthur is named the commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces in Korea.

Ref: 62

Jul 14

RE Wayne awarded first Distinguished Flying Cross in Korea.

Ref: 5

Jul 26

Massacre at No Gun Ri. U.S. GI's allegedly massacred a village of South Korean civilians. (Ref: Newsweek 11 Oct 99, "I've Tried To Repent", p.58)

Aug 01

Lead elements of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division arrive in Korea from the United States.

Ref: 2

Aug 01

Pitcher Curt Simmons of the Philadelphia Phillies became the first major-league baseball player to be called to active military duty during the Korean War.

Ref: 4

Aug 02

The U.S. First Provisional Marine Brigade arrives in Korea from the United States.

Ref: 2

Aug 08

U.S. troops repel the first North Korean attempt to overrun them at the battle of Naktong Bulge, which continued for 10 days.

Ref: 2

Aug 10

President Harry S. Truman calls the National Guard to active duty to fight in the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Aug 15

Two U.S. divisions are badly mauled by the North Korean Army at the Battle of the Bowling Alley in South Korea, which rages on for five more days.

Ref: 2

Aug 23

Up to 77,000 members of the U.S. Army Organized Reserve Corps are called involuntarily to active duty to fight the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Sep 04

First helicopter rescue of American pilot behind enemy lines

Ref: 5

Sep 15

During the Korean War, United Nations forces landed at Inchon in the south and began their drive toward Seoul.

Ref: 70

Sep 16

The U.S. 8th Army breaks out of the Pusan Perimeter in South Korea and begins heading north to meet MacArthur's troops heading south from Inchon.

Ref: 2

Sep 26

General Douglas MacArthur's American X Corps, fresh from the Inchon landing, links up with the U.S. Eighth Army after its breakout from the Pusan Perimeter.

Ref: 2

Sep 26

United Nations troops recaptured the South Korean capital of Seoul from the North Koreans.

Ref: 70

Sep 27

U.S. Army and Marine troops liberate Seoul, South Korea.

Ref: 2

Sep 29

General Douglas MacArthur officially returns Seoul, South Korea, to President Syngman Rhee.

Ref: 2

Sep 30

U.N. forces cross the 38th parallel separating North and South Korea as they pursue the retreating North Korean Army. In 1950, as U.S. Marines tried to fight their way out of a Chinese trap, Korea suffered its worst winter of the century.

Ref: 2

Oct 07

The United Nations General Assembly approves an advance of U.N. forces to the 38th parallel in the Korean Conflict.

Ref: 5

Oct 09

U.N. forces, led by the First Cavalry Division, cross the 38th parallel in South Korea and begin attacking northward towards the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. A year after leaving West Point, Lt. Joe Kingston was en route to Korea, where he, like a lot of others, found himself retreating and advancing in a single day.

Ref: 2

Oct 14

Chinese Communist Forces begin to infiltrate the North Korean Army.

Ref: 2

Oct 15

President Harry Truman meets with General Douglas MacArthur at Wake Island to discuss U.N. progress in the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Oct 18

The First Turkish Brigade arrives in Korea to assist the U.N. forces fighting there.

Ref: 2

Oct 19

The North Korean capital of Pyongyang is captured by U.N. troops.

Ref: 2

Oct 21

North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung establishes a new capital at Sinuiju on the Yalu River opposite the Chinese City of Antung

Ref: 2

Oct 25

Chinese Communist Forces launch their first-phase offensive across the Yalu River into North Korea.

Ref: 2

Oct 26

A reconnaissance platoon for a South Korean division reaches the Yalu River. They are the only elements of the U.N. force to reach the river before the Chinese offensive pushes the whole army down into South Korea.

Ref: 2

Oct 30

The First Marine Division is ordered to replace the entire South Korean I Corps at the Chosin Reservoir area. In 1950, as U.S. Marines tried to fight their way out of a Chinese trap, Korea suffered its worst winter of the century. The men who struggled there suffered accordingly.

Ref: 2

Nov 08

1st Lt. Russell J. Brown, flying a Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, shoots down a North Korean MiG-15 in the first jet aerial combat in history. Ref

Nov 20

U.S. troops push to the Yalu River, within five miles of Manchuria.

Ref: 2

Nov 24

UN troops begin an assault into the rest of North Korea, hoping to end the Korean War by Christmas.

Ref: 2

Nov 26

China enters the Korean conflict, launching a counter-offensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the United States and South Korea.

Ref: 70

Nov 27

East of the Chosin River, Chinese forces annihilate an American task force.

Ref: 2

Nov 28

In Korea, 200,000 Communist troops launch attack on UN forces.

Ref: 2

Nov 30

President Truman declares that the United States will use the A-bomb to get peace in Korea.

Ref: 2

Dec 03

The Chinese close in on Pyongyang, Korea and UN forces withdraw southward.

Ref: 2

Dec 05

Pyongyang in Korea falls to the invading Chinese army.

Ref: 2

Dec 16

President Harry Truman declares a state of National Emergency as Chinese communists invade deeper into South Korea.

Ref: 2

Dec 23

General Walton H. Walker, the commander of the Eighth Army in Korea, is killed in a jeep accident. Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgeway is named his successor.

Ref: 2

Dec 28

Chinese troops cross 38th Parallel, into South Korea.

Ref: 5

1951

Jan 01

Massive Chinese/North Korean assault on UN-lines.

Ref: 5

Jan 04

UN forces abandon Seoul, Korea to the Chinese Communist Army.

Ref: 2

Jan 05

Inchon, South Korea, the sight of General Douglas MacArthur's amphibious flanking maneuver, is abandoned by United Nations force to the advancing Chinese Army.

Ref: 2

Jan 17

China refuses cease-fire in Korea.

Ref: 5

Jan 21

Communist troops force the UN army out of Inchon, Korea after a 12-hour attack. Communist troops force the UN army out of Inchon, Korea after a 12-hour attack.

Ref: 2

Jan 25

The U.S. Eighth Army in Korea launches Operation Thunderbolt, a counter attack to push the Chinese Army north of the Han River.

Ref: 2

Feb 01

UN condemns People's Republic of China as aggressor in Korea.

Ref: 5

Feb 11

U.N. forces push north across the 38th parallel for the second time in the Korean war.

Ref: 2

Feb 13

At the Battle of Chipyong-ni, in Korea, U.N. troops contain the Chinese forces' offensive in a two-day battle.

Ref: 2

Feb 21

The U. S. Eighth Army launches Operation Killer, a counterattack to push Chinese forces north of the Han River in Korea.

Ref: 2

Mar 07

U.N. forces in Korea under General Matthew Ridgeway launch Operation Ripper, an offensive in to straighten out the U.N. front lines against the Chinese.

Ref: 2

Mar 12

Communist troops driven out of Seoul.

Ref: 5

Mar 14

U.N. forces recapture Seoul for the second time during the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Mar 21

Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall reports that the U.S. military has doubled to 2.9 million since the start of the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Mar 23

U.S. paratroopers descend from flying boxcars in a surprise attack in Korea.

Ref: 2

Mar 24

General Douglas MacArthur threatens the Chinese with an extension of the Korean War if the proposed truce is not accepted.

Ref: 2

Mar 29

The Chinese reject Gen. Douglas MacArthur's offer for a truce in Korea.

Ref: 2

Mar 31

US tanks exceed 38� of latitude in Korea.

Ref: 5

Apr 01

United Nations forces again move northward across the 38th Parallel in Korea.

Ref: 2

Apr 11

President Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur as head of United Nations forces in Korea. New insight into the Korean War.

Ref: 2

May 09

Air raid on Chinese positions at Yalu River.

Ref: 5

May 19

UN begins counter offensive in Korea.

Ref: 5

May 20

During the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara becomes the first jet air ace in history.

Ref: 2

May 21

The U.S. Eighth Army counterattacks to drive the Communist Chinese and North Koreans out of South Korea.

Ref: 2

Jun 13

U.N. troops seize Pyongyang, North Korea.

Ref: 2

Jun 23

Soviet U.N. delegate Jacob Malik proposes cease-fire discussions in the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Jun 26

The Soviet Union proposes a cease-fire in the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Jun 29

The United States invites the Soviet Union to the Korean peace talks on a ship in Wonson Harbor.

Ref: 2

Jul 10

Armistice talks between the United Nations and North Korea begin at Kaesong.

Ref: 2

Aug 05

The United Nations Command suspends armistice talks with the North Koreans when armed troops are spotted in neutral areas.Lt. Joe Kingston was en route to Korea, where he, like a lot of others, found himself retreating and advancing in a single day.

Ref: 2

Aug 31

The 1st Marine Division begins its attack on Bloody Ridge in Korea. The four-day battle results in 2,700 Marine casualties.

Ref: 2

Sep 13

In Korea, U.S. Army troops begin their assault in Heartbreak Ridge. The month-long struggle will cost 3,700 casualties.Forty-five years after shipping out to fight in Korea, Harry Summers got new insight into what the war had been all about.

Ref: 2

Oct 25

Peace talks aimed at ending the Korean Conflict resumed in Panmunjom after 63 days.

Ref: 70

Nov 12

The U.S. Eighth Army in Korea is ordered to cease offensive operations and begin an active defense.

Ref: 3

Nov 25

A truce line between U.N. troops and North Korea is mapped out at the peace talks in Panmunjom, Korea.

Ref: 2

Dec 18

North Koreans give the United Nations a list of 3,100 POWs.

Ref: 2

1952

Mar 04

North Korea accuses the United Nations of using germ warfare.

Ref: 2

Mar 18

Communist offensive in Korea.

Ref: 5

Mar 27

Elements of the U.S. Eighth Army reach the 38th parallel in Korea, the original dividing line between the two Koreas.

Ref: 2

May 07

In Korea, Communist POWs at Koje-do riot against their American captors.

Ref: 2

May 08

Allied fighter-bombers stage the largest raid of the war on North Korea.

Ref: 2

Jun 03

A rebellion by North Korean prisoners in the Koje prison camp in South Korea is put down by American troops.

Ref: 2

Jun 23

The U.S. Air Force bombs power plants on Yalu River, Korea.

Ref: 2

Aug 29

In the largest bombing raid of the Korean War, 1,403 planes of the Far East Air Force bomb Pyongyang, North Korea.

Ref: 2

Dec 14

Uprising of captives in Pongam South Korea, 82 die.

Ref: 5

1953

Feb 27

F-84 Thunderjets raid North Korean base on Yalu River.

Ref: 2

Mar 10

North Korean gunners at Wonsan fire on the USS Missouri, the ship responds by firing 998 rounds at the enemy position.

Ref: 2

Mar 25

The USS Missouri fires on targets at Kojo, North Korea, the last time her guns fire until the Persian Gulf War of 1992.

Ref: 2

Apr 20

Operation Little Switch begins in Korea, the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war.

Ref: 2

Apr 26

Two U.S. Air Force B-29s dropped leaflets behind enemy lines, offering a $50,000 reward and political asylum to any pilot delivering an intact MiG-15 to American forces for study. On September 21, 1953, North Korean pilot Lieutenant Ro Kim Suk delivered his M-15 to American forces outside Seoul, Korea.

Jun 04

North Korea accepts the United Nations proposals in all major respects.

Ref: 2

Jun 18

South Korean President Syngman Rhee releases Korean non-repatriate POWs against the will of the United Nations.

Ref: 2

Jul 27

The armistice agreement that ended the Korean War was signed at Panmunjon, Korea. The war lasted three years and 32 days. The truce negotiations between North Korean and US delegates (representing South Korea) lasted two years and seventeen days.

Ref: 4

Aug 05

Operation "Big Switch" Korean War prisoner exchanged at Panmunjom.

Ref: 5

Aug 08

The United States and South Korea initialed a mutual security pact.

Ref: 5

Aug 08

South Korean President Syngman Rhee releases Korean non-repatriate POWs against the will of the United Nations.

Ref: 2

Sep 06

The last American and Korean prisoners are exchanged in Operation Big Switch, the last official act of the Korean War.

Ref: 2

Sep 21

North Korean pilot Lieutenant Ro Kim Suk landed his M-15 at Kimpo airfield outside Seoul, giving the Americans a look at the superior Russian aircraft. Ro was given $50,000 and political asylum.

Dec 26

The United States announces the withdrawal of two divisions from Korea.

Ref: 2

1954

Jan 20

Over 22,000 anti-Communist prisoners are turned over to UN forces in Korea.

Ref: 2

1962

Oct 08

N Korea reports 100% election turnout, 100% vote for Workers' Party.

Ref: 5

1963

Dec 17

Tsjoi Doo Sun forms government in South Korea.

Ref: 5

1972

Dec 28

New North Korean constitution comes into effect.

Ref: 5

1973

Jun 30

In Korea, the Far Eastern Broadcasting Co. began transmitting the Gospel from HLAZ, its first radio station in this country. FBEC is active today through radio missions outreach, and focuses its work among the islands of Eastern Asia and the Pacific.

Ref: 5

1976

Aug 18

Two U.S. Army officers are killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers weilding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers.

1980

May 27

South Korean police ends people's uprising; 2,000 killed.

Ref: 5

Oct 22

New South Korean constitution comes into effect.

Ref: 5

1985

Feb 08

Opposition leader Kim Dae Jung returns to South-Korea.

Ref: 5

1987

Oct 27

South Korean voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution.

Ref: 5

1991

Feb 12

North & South Korea form a joint team for table tennis competition.

Ref: 5

May 22

Roh Jai Bong resigns as premier of South Korea

Ref: 5

Dec 13

Both Koreas sign an accord calling for reconciliation.

Ref: 5

1992

Dec 18

Kim Young-Sam is elected president of South Korea, the first civilian to hold that office since the early 1960s. (XDG, p 4A, 12/18/2000)

Ref: 83

1993

Mar 11

North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in a harsh rebuff of Western demands to open suspected nuclear weapons development sites for inspection.

Ref: 70

1994

Jan 05

The Clinton administration said that North Korea had agreed to allow renewed international inspections of seven nuclear sites. (XDG, p 4A, 1/05/2004)

Ref: 83

Mar 09

Talks between North and South Korea collapse, imperiling a US-brokered dealto resolve the North Korean nuclear dispute. (XDG, p 4A, 3/19/2004)

Ref: 83

Nov 29

The city of Seoul celebrated its 600th anniversary as the capital of Korea.

Ref: 4

1995

Jul 27

The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. opened to the public on the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. US President Bill Clinton and President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) dedicated the memoirial. A plaque at the flagstaff reads, �Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered a call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.�

Ref: 4

1997

Mar 05

Representatives of North Korea and South Korea met for first time in 25 years, for peace talks in New York.

Ref: 70

May 12

14 North Koreans defect to South Korea.

Ref: 5

Nov 26

In a small but symbolic step, the US and North Korea hold high-level discussions at the State Department for the first time. (XDG, p 4A, 11/26/2002)

Ref: 83

1998

Nov 21

President Clinton, visiting South Korea, warned North Korea to foresake nuclear weapons and urged the North to sieze "a historic opportunity" for peace with the South. (XDG, p 4A, 11/21/2003)

Ref: 83

1999

Jun 15

Vessels from North Korea and South Korea clash on the Yellow Sea. About 30 North Korean sailors are believed killed. (XDG, p 4A, 6/12/2004)

Ref: 83

2000

Apr 10

South Korea and North Korea announced a June date for their first summit since the Korean peninsula was divided in 1945.

Ref: 6

Jun 13

The presidents of South Korea and North Korea opened a summit in the northern capital of Pyongyang with pledges to seek reunification of the divided peninsula.

Ref: 70

Jun 14

In the biggest step toward peace since the end of the Korean War, the leaders of North and South Korea signed an agreement pledging to work for reconciliation and eventual reunification. The Southern Baptist Convention declared that women should no longer serve as pastors.

Ref: 5

Jul 30

North and South Korea agreed to reopen border liaison offices and reconnect a railway linking their capitals.

Ref: 6

Aug 15

A group of 100 people from North Korea arrived in South Korea for temporary reunions with relatives they had not seen for half a century; a group of 100 South Koreans visited the North.

Ref: 70

Sep 29

The Associated Press reported on the alleged mass killing of civilians by US soldiers in the early days of the Korean War, beneath a bridge at a hamlet called No Gun

Ref: 6

Sep 30

Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered a top-level investigation of accounts of mass killings of Korean civilians by US soldiers at No Gun Ri in 1950.

Ref: 6

2001

Jan 11

The Army acknowledged that U.S. soldiers killed an "unknown number" of South Korean refugees early in the Korean War at No Gun Ri.

Ref: 70

2002

Jun 23

Twenty-six North Korean asylum seekers left South Korean and Canadian diplomatic compounds bound for South Korea, ending a month-long standoff. (XDG, p 4A, 6/23/2003)

Ref: 83

Oct 15

(date given as October, 2002) US officials say North Korea admitted it has a clandestine nuclear program, in breach of a 1994 accord with the US. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Nov 11

The US and allies halt oil supplies to North Korea under the 1994 accord. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Dec 19

Roh Moo-hyun wins South Korea's presidential election. (XDG, p 4A, 12/19/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 22

A defiant North Korea said that it had begun removing UN seals and surveillance cameras from nuclear facilities that the US said could yield weapons within months. (XDG, p 4A, 12/22/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 24

North Korea ratcheted up its standoff with the US, starting repairs on a long-frozen nuclear reactor and warning that US policy was leading to an "uncontrollable catastrophe" and the "brink of nuclear war". (XDG, p 4A, 12/24/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 27

North Korea orders the expulsion of international inspectors from Yongbyon. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

2003

Jan 10

North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Feb 05

North Korea says it has reactivated its nuclear power facilities. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Feb 26

The US says North Korea has reactivated its five-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Jul 11

North Korea says it extracted enough plutonium from 8000 spent nuclear fuel rods to make 12 nuclear weapons. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Jul 20

News reports suggest that krypton 85 gas, a sign of nuclear activity, has been detected from a site other than Yongbyon. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

Jul 21

President GW Bush says he continues to hope for a diplomatic solution to deal with the standoff with North Korea. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003)

Ref: 33

The Korean War Chronology

Last Update: October 27th, 2005 © 2000-2005 Kenneth Fussichen

Last Update: October 27th, 2005
© 2000-2005 Kenneth Fussichen