Background
1905—Japanese occupation of Korea begins.
1910—Japan officially annexed Korea (Choson) and began its effort to eradicate Korean culture. (Japan also occupied China from 1937 to 1945.)
1931—Japan invades Manchuria and expands its attempts to control all of China in 1937.
In 1945, the Soviet Union occupied the northern part of the Korean peninsula, while the US occupied the southern part. (The USSR also occupied East Germany and much of Eastern Europe after World War II, causing the Cold War.)
Land in the South was better suited for farming. The North suffered from food shortages and needed aid from China and the USSR.
1950-1953—North Korea with the help of China and the USSR and South Korea with the help of the United Nations (led by the United States) fought for control of the peninsula. UN troops drive the North Korean forces to the Chinese border. China comes to the North’s aid to drive the US and South Korean army back to the 38th Parallel, the DMZ (demilitarized zone), where the “border” between the two sides still stands today.
In 1989, Chinese students and workers protested oppression by the Chinese Communist Party. On June 4, the army stormed Tiananmen Square in Beijing killing some and arresting surviving protesters.
Between 1989 and 1997 (when China took control of Hong Kong from the British), Operation Yellowbird worked to help Tiananmen Square dissidents escape from China.
In 1995, flooding and economic decline in North Korea’s supporting nations (China and the USSR) cemented famine in place. According to at least one source, as many as 3.5 million North Koreans died from starvation.