Key facts
- A Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won ($32.5 million) in damages for demolishing the inter-Korean liaison office in 2020.
- The South Korean government filed the lawsuit in June 2023.
- The damages include 10.25 billion won for the office and 34.45 billion won for a damaged adjacent support facility.
- North Korea destroyed the office on June 16, 2020, in protest against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South.
- This is the first time the South Korean government has taken legal action against North Korea.
A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won ($32.5 million) in damages for its 2020 demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office. The ruling, reported by Yonhap News Agency, marks the first time the South Korean government has taken legal action against the North.
The unification ministry sued North Korea in June 2023, seeking compensation for losses to state property. The damages include 10.25 billion won for the liaison office itself and 34.45 billion won for an adjacent support facility that was seriously damaged by the demolition's fallout. North Korea blew up the joint liaison office in Kaesong on June 16, 2020, in protest against South Korea's failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
The lawsuit appears largely symbolic, as there is virtually no way for South Korea to enforce compensation from North Korea.