The New York Philharmonic performs in North Korea, in the first significant cultural contact between USA and North Korea since the Korean War

North Korea announces that it has carried out a second successful nuclear test

North Korea shells the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, causing four deaths and a dangerous deterioration in relations with South Korea

Kim Jong-il dies and is succeeded by his 28-year-old son Kim Jong-un, the third member of the Kim dynasty to be declared Supreme Leader of North Korea

The rocket Kwangmyongsong-3 breaks up less than two minutes after its launch, in North Korea's third attempt to put a satellite into space

North Korea successfully launches a powerful rocket, alarming the world with a new sign of military potential

In The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson follows the central character in a successful and increasingly terrifying career through the horrors of contemporary North Korea

North Korea carries out its third underground nuclear test

Jang Sung-taek, uncle and mentor of the young North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, is executed after public humiliation

The UN publishes a report on the atrocities committed against the North Korean people and calls for those responsible, including Kim Jong-un, to be brought to justice

North Korea test-fires into the sea two medium-range ballistic missiles, capable of reaching Japan or China

More than 300 people die when a South Korean ferry, the Sewol, capsizes and sinks due to gross irresponsibilty leading to the arrest of surviving crew members and owners of the company

North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test

North Korea prompts international condemnation by test firing a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan

The Assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is the first in the process of Kim-Jong-un killing all rival family members

Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the Demilitarized Zone since its creation in 1953

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits Russia to hold a series of summits with Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin