Milestones in relations between the two Koreas

SEOUL - The leaders of the rival Koreas will hold a summit Oct 2-4 in Pyongyang, only the second between two states still technically at war.

Here are some milestones in relations:

* 1945 - Korea, a Japanese colony since 1910, is divided in two at the 38th parallel following Japan's defeat in World War Two. The North falls under Soviet influence and the South under that of the United States.

* 1948 - The Republic of Korea is formed in the South and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the North.

* June 25, 1950: North Korean troops invade the South, starting the Korean War.

* July 27, 1953: Armistice Agreement is signed, creating a 4-km (2.5-mile) Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) or buffer strip that divides the peninsula. With no final peace treaty, the two Koreas remain technically at war.

* August 1971 to 1972 - The two states hold their first formal discussions since the Korean War. Preliminary talks sputter due to lingering animosity. They eventually issue a statement on July 4, 1972, calling for peaceful reunification.

* October 1983: More than 20 people, including four South Korean cabinet ministers, are killed in Burma (now Myanmar) when DPRK agents blow up a major landmark just minutes before South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan was due to arrive.

* November 1987: North Korean agents blow up a South Korean civilian airliner, killing 115 people, leading Washington to place it on its list of countries supporting terrorism.

* 1990: South Korea establishes ties with the Soviet Union, then the North's biggest benefactor.

* April 1996: North Korea renounces the armistice and sends troops into the DMZ. In September, a North Korean submarine runs aground and is abandoned off the South Korean coast.

* June 15, 2000: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il hold an unprecedented first inter-Korean summit that led to a warming of ties and increased exchanges between the two countries.

* Aug. 15, 2000 - The two sides hold the first reunion for the families separated after the Korean War.

* May 17, 2007 - North and South Korea run the first trains across their border since the 1950-1953 war. Source: Reuters, A Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia by Ian Preston; Europa Publications, 2001