Today in Korean history

December 18

1973 -- South Korea establishes diplomatic relations with Bangladesh.

1991 -- President Roh Tae-woo says he will make the Korean Peninsula free of
nuclear weapons.

1992 -- Kim Young-sam, a candidate of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party, is
elected the 14th president of South Korea, beating his longtime rival Kim
Dae-jung.

1997 -- Kim Dae-jung, a candidate of the opposition National Congress for New
Politics, wins the presidential election.

2003 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom releases a list of
countries it claims are violators of religious freedom. The list of "countries of
particular concern" in Asia includes North Korea, China, Myanmar and Vietnam.

2008 -- North Korean senior defense official Kim Yong-chol visits the Kaesong
joint industrial complex to hold talks with South Korean companies over
restrictions on travel into the border city imposed earlier in December.
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