North Korea Park Chung-hee

honoring president park chung-hee in army parade @ armed forces day on 1 october 1973.

park oversaw transitional changes between 2 koreas conflict consolidation. beginning in october 1964, north korea increased infiltration of intelligence-gatherers , propagandists south. more 30 south korean soldiers , @ least 10 civilians had been killed in clashes north korean infiltrators october 1966.

in october 1966, park ordered rok army stage retaliatory attack without seeking approval of general charles bonesteel. action, in retaliation ongoing south korean losses, caused tension between park s government , u.s. command in korea, wished avoid violations of armistice.

between 1966 , 1969 clashes escalated park s armed forces involved in firefights along korean dmz. fighting, referred second korean war, related speech given kim il-sung on 5 october 1966 in north korean leader challenged legitimacy of 1953 armistice agreement. kim stated irregular warfare succeed in way conventional warfare not because south korean military involved ever-growing vietnam war. believed park s administration undermined if armed provocation north korea directed against u.s. troops. force united states reconsider worldwide commitments. splits give north opportunity incite insurgency in south against park.

on 21 january 1968, 31-man unit 124 of north korean people s army special forces commandos attempted assassinate park , succeeded. stopped 800 metres blue house police patrol. fire fight broke out , 2 of north koreans killed or captured. in response assassination attempt, park organized unit 684, group intended assassinate kim il-sung. disbanded in 1971.

despite hostility, negotiations conducted between north , south regarding reunification. on 4 july 1972 both countries released joint statement specifying reunification must achieved internally no reliance on external forces or outside interference, process must achieved peacefully without use of military force, , parties must promote national unity united people on differences of ideological , political systems. united states department of state not happy these proposals and, following park s assassination in 1979, quietly buried.

on 15 august 1974, park delivering speech in national theater in seoul @ ceremony celebrate 29th anniversary of ending of colonial rule when man named mun se-gwang fired gun @ park front row. would-be assassin, japanese-born north korean sympathizer, missed park stray bullet struck wife yuk young-soo (who died later day) , others on stage. park continued speech dying wife carried off stage. mun hanged in seoul prison 4 months later. on first anniversary of wife s death, park wrote in diary felt though had lost in world. things became burden , lost courage , will. year has passed since then. , during year have cried alone in secret many times count.