There had been a series of provocations instigated by North Korea following the Korean War, but the most brazen one was the attempted assassination of President Park Chung-hee by North Korean terrorists in 1968. After failing to make it into the presidential residence of Cheong Wa Dae, the North Korean agents engaged in violent gunfights in the city, leaving several law enforcement officers and civilians dead and wounded. This terrifying incident spurred on social, political, and legal changes in South Korean society and toughened the country's security stance against the North Korean communist regime. Despite a period of reconciliation in the early 21st century, hostility and mistrust still divide the two sides nearly half a century after the 1968 North Korean terrorist attack.