North-South Korean Relations: A Chronology of Events in 2000 and 2001

Publication Date: January 2002

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: Korea

Abstract:

This report chronicles major developments in the thaw between North and South Korea that has followed the historic inter-Korean summit meeting in June 2000. In the months immediately following the summit, the two Koreas developed a new dialogue, which included several inter-ministerial talks, a meeting of defense ministers, talks on economic cooperation, and family reunions. The sheer breadth and depth of the dialogue indicated to many analysts that Seoul and Pyongyang were trying in earnest to regularize and institutionalize the rapprochement, in contrast to previously ephemeral thaws in 1972, 1985 and the early 1990s. There have been several setbacks, however, leading many critics to wonder whether North Korea's diplomatic outreach is merely a tactic to obtain economic assistance and reduce the U.S. troop presence in South Korea. Since February 2001, inter-Korean diplomacy has effectively been frozen. With South Korean President Kim Dae Jung being openly labeled a "lame duck," many have wondered whether his sunshine policy of engaging North Korea has run out of steam.

Due to the growing length of the chronology, this report will not be updated. Instead, a new North-South timeline will be started each calendar year, beginning with events on January 1 of that year.