A South Korean court has ordered North Korea to pay approximately $32.5 million in damages for blowing up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in 2020.
“The court has ruled the North should pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages,” a spokeswoman for the Seoul Central District Court told AFP on Wednesday.
The ruling marks the first time the South Korean government has sought compensation directly from the North Korean state for the destruction of the facility, which was intended to improve relations between the two countries.
Pyongyang demolished the building in the Kaesong Industrial Complex in June 2020 amid rising tensions after South Korean activists sent balloons carrying anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. North Korea described the office as “useless.”
The office, located in the now-dormant industrial park where South Korean firms once employed North Korean workers, opened in September 2018 shortly before then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in held his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
About 20 officials from each side worked there until operations were suspended in January 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Korea said it would “review the necessary follow-up measures.” Analysts consider it unlikely that Pyongyang will pay the damages.
The lawsuit was filed in 2023 under former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who adopted a hard-line stance toward the North before his removal from office.
