Division

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was born in 1948 amid the chaos after Japan's surrender, which ended World War II. After the formation of the U.S.-backed Republic of Korea in Seoul, rival DPRK was established in Pyongyang with Kim II Sung, a Soviet backed anti-Japanese resistance leader, as its head of state. Kim would shape and dominate political and economic affairs for nearly 50 years.

War

The Korean War began in June 1950 when the North launched a surprise attack on the South in an attempt to reunite the country by force. Chinese troops join the North to oppose U.S.-led United Nations forces in the south. By the end of the war in 1953, over three million Koreans were dead and many more made homeless. About 1 million Chinese were killed -- American casualties numbered over 54,000.

DMZ

The July 27 1953 armistice ended hostilities but North and South Korea remain technically at war and divided by the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) along the 38th parallel -- the most heavily fortified border in the world. The war also further distances Washington and Moscow.

The U.S. deploys tens of thousands of military personnel in South Korea as a deterrent to further North Korean aggression. Today well over a million soldiers face each other along the DMZ, ready to resume the Korean War at a moment's notice.

Juche

Under Kim Il Sung, North Korea develops its political philosophy of "juche" or "self-reliance" which initially led to good economic growth and industrial success. But by the 1970s, North Korea's economic situation was in decline and worsening rapidly due to high military spending and a lack of reform. Kim realigned the North closer to the Soviet Union but shifted back to China towards the end of the 1980s as the break-up of the Soviet state gained momentum. Kim (right) is seen in this picture with Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung.

Bombings

Kim's son, Kim Jong Il is accused of international terrorist activities, including the 1987 bombing of a Korean Airlines jet which killed all 115 on board and a blast in Rangoon, Burma -- now known as Yangon, Myanmar -- which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials including four Cabinet members in 1983. The younger Kim -- in charge of North Korea's special operations forces in the 1970s and 80s -- was also linked by defectors to a series of international kidnappings. The picture shows one of the alleged airplane bombers.

Successions

Extraordinary scenes of grief sweep North Korea in July 1994 after the sudden death of 'Great Leader' Kim at age 82. After a period of mourning lasting several years, Kim's charismatic son takes over as head of state in 1998 while the post of president was "eternally" assigned to his father. Kim Jong Il takes on the personality cult of 'Dear Leader' but little is known in the outside world about the secretive leader.

Tensions

A military showdown with the United States is narrowly averted in 1994 after North Korea signs the so-called Agreed Framework following months of high-level diplomacy. Pyongyang pledges to freeze and eventually dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel oil and international aid to build two light water power reactors. Foundations for the first reactor are poured in August 2002 (pictured) amid criticism from Pyongyang that Washington had been reneging on its side of the deal.

Spying

Relations with Seoul were soured further when a N. Korean spy submarine ran aground off the South's eastern coast in September 1996. Thirteen S. Korean soldiers and civilians and 24 N. Korean commandos are killed in the massive manhunt that ensues.

N. Korea later apologized for the incursion, which was monitored closely by then U.S. President Bill Clinton. In years to come, South and N. Korean navy ships would clash with each side accusing the other of venturing into its waters.

Anthony.