From 668 to 1897 Korea was a united country, that could develop independently from China and Japan.
1910: Korea is colonised by Japan, and nationalist groups occur, fighting for independence. Some of these groups worked together with China and the Soviet Union, others with the USA. Kim Il-Sung allied with communist China and fought against Japan in Manchuria.
1942: Syngman Rhee goes to the USA.
1945: By the end of the Second World War and the victory over Japan, Korea was freed. To fill the resulting power vaccum, one came to a quick agreement. The north is occupied by the USSR and Kim Il-Sung is placed as ruler. The south is occupied by the USA and anti-communist Syngman Rhee is established as a ruler. The country is divided at the 38th parallel. Through the Cold War and mistrust on both sides, there never was a clear choice that could have unite Korea.
15. August 1948: Syngman Rhee calls out the Republik of Korea in Seoul and claimed sovereingty over the whole of Korea.
30. August 1948: Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang declared the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in turn and also claimed the whole of the country.
25. Juni 1950: Kim Il-Sung starts an attack on South Korea supported by China and the Soviet Union that sparks the Korean War. With the help of the USA, South Korea fights back the troops. The war claimed millions of victims.
27. Juni 1953: An armistice agreement enters into force. However, Korea remains officially in the state of war. The country is divided at the 38th parallel and has one of the most guarded borders worldwide.
Both Koreas build up their countries again. At first North Korea’s reconstruction progressed faster than in the South. A personality cult surrounding Kim Il-Sung is propagated and the Juche ideology is established. The population in the 1960th is distributed with food and housing as well as education is facilitated.
South Korea however, suffers from a military dictatorship before it comes to an economic recovery and an democratisation.
Trough the dissolution of the Soviet Union, North Korea lost important trade partners, resulting in shortages.
8. Juli 1994: Kim Il-Sung died. His son Kim Jong-Il takes power and established a policy that puts the military at the very first, which claims important resources from the citizen. Furthermore an attempt is made to develop an atomic bomb.