Pyongyang announces it will no longer abide by the armistice that ended the Korean War, and sends troops into the demilitarised zone. UN food aid brought in to help famine victims. North launches rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific Ocean. Pyongyang insists it fired a satellite, not a missile. Nine crew inside found dead.
North stops propaganda broadcasts against the South.
Senior journalists from South Korea visit the North to open up communication. South Korea gives amnesty to more than 3,500 prisoners. One hundred North Koreans meet their relatives in the South in a highly-charged, emotional reunion. 2001 May - A European Union delegation headed by Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson visits to help shore up the fragile reconciliation process with South Korea. The group represents the highest-level Western diplomatic mission ever to travel to North Korea.