Seoul: Today in Korean history marks several significant events that highlight North Korea's interactions with global and regional powers over the decades. In 1974, North Korea became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, due to escalating tensions with the United States over its nuclear weapons program, North Korea withdrew from the U.N. nuclear watchdog on January 10, 2003.

According to Yonhap News Agency, another notable development occurred in 2002 when the militaries of South and North Korea reached an agreement to open a hotline. This move aimed to facilitate the relinking of two sets of severed railways and roads across their heavily fortified border. Although these infrastructures were reconnected, they have not yet opened for traffic due to the ongoing political and military tensions between the two Koreas.

In 2010, the foreign affairs council of the European Union approved a free trade agreement with South Korea. This agreement sought to eliminate or phase out tariffs on 96 percent of EU goods and 99 percent of South Korean goods within three years, with the Korea-EU FTA coming into full effect on July 1, 2011.

The following year, in 2011, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea issued a strong rebuke to electricity officials concerning the September 15 nationwide blackouts. Investigations revealed that an incorrect power forecast was largely responsible for the unprecedented incident.

In 2012, Rep. Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer-turned-politician, secured the presidential nomination of the main opposition Democratic United Party. The subsequent year, 2013, saw the inter-Korean factory complex in North Korea resuming trial-run production after a five-month hiatus. This development came as the two Koreas explored ways to ensure the sustainable growth of the joint economic venture. However, South Korea later shut down the complex in 2016 in response to North Korea's nuclear test and missile launch earlier that year.

In 2017, the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's latest missile launch, describing it as a "highly provocative" action. The council's statement followed an emergency meeting convened after North Korea launched a missile that flew over Japan, which occurred shortly after North Korea's most powerful nuclear test on September 3.