Today in Korean history

Oct. 23

1936 -- The first bridge built over the Han River opens, connecting the Yongsan area of Seoul to Noryangjin in the southern part of the capital.

1996 -- Ahn Doo-hee, who assassinated freedom fighter Kim Koo in 1949, is killed by one of Kim's supporters, Kwon Joong-hwi.

2000 -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visits North Korea and meets the communist country's leader, Kim Jong-il.

2007 -- President Roh Moo-hyun announces the government's decision to extend the stay of South Korea's Zaytun unit in Iraq for another 12 months. Prior to the extension, the number of Zaytun troops, who had been stationed in northern Iraq since 2003, were to be reduced by half to 600.

2010 -- Wrapping up a two-day meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, finance ministers and top central bankers of the Group of 20 major economies agree to avoid competitive currency devaluations and curb excessive trade imbalances in an effort to ease mounting economic tensions.

2011 -- North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, arrives in Geneva for denuclearization talks with his U.S. counterpart, Stephen Bosworth. The move came as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il renewed calls for the quick resumption of the nuclear talks without preconditions.

2013 -- South and North Korea clinch a deal over the operation of the secretariat of a management committee for an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong.

2017 -- The defense chiefs of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agree to provide full support for the diplomacy-based denuclearization of North Korea during their talks on the sidelines of an ASEAN security forum in Manila.

2018 -- President Moon Jae-in ratifies a summit agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that was reached earlier in the month in Pyongyang.
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