Today in Korean history, Nov. 26

1986 -- The government announces plans to build a "Peace Dam" on the upper stretches of the Han River that flows through Seoul to counter a possible North Korean "flood" offensive. The move was prompted by reports that North Korea planned to build a "Mount Geumgang" dam on the upper stream of the river north of the border.

The then military-backed South Korean government of President Chun
Doo-hwan claimed that the North's dam was intended as a weapon to flood the
densely populated capital and its surrounding areas. The South Korean dam,
completed several years later, was left empty in order to contain floods that
might be released by the North.

1995 -- The government of President Kim Young-sam re-opens an investigation into
the so-called Dec. 12 incident, in which Chun Doo-hwan, then an army general,
staged an internal coup and seized power in 1979. It also decided to
reinvestigate the May 18 civil uprising, in which citizens in the southern city
of Gwangju rose up against Chun's government in 1980. The uprising was put down
by force, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

2004 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board decided not to
refer South Korea to the U.N. Security Council over its undeclared experiments
with nuclear material, but adopted a "chairman's statement" to express concern
over Seoul's failure to report them. South Korea acknowledged in September that
its scientists extracted or enriched plutonium and uranium, two key ingredients
for nuclear weapons, in 1982 and 2000 without reporting this to the government.
(END)