Court orders North Korea pay Seoul US$32.5 million for blowing up office

Seoul's court mandated Pyongyang to compensate around US$32.5 million in June 2020 for the demolition of an office aimed at improving inter-Korean relations. This marks the first instance where South Korea has sought financial retribution directly from North Korea, according to reports. Legal experts believe Pyongyang is unlikely to comply with the ruling, which pertains to the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong, a city in North Korea.

The office was built in the dormant Kaesong Industrial Complex, where South Korean firms previously employed North Korean workers.

The structure was destroyed in June 2020 following a period of heightened tensions, triggered by South Korean activists sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Pyongyang labeled the office as "useless." The court ruled North Korea must pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages, as per a spokeswoman from the Seoul Central District Court.

The lawsuit was initiated in 2023 during the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who adopted a tough stance towards North Korea prior to his removal following his controversial martial law declaration.

The office opened in September 2018, just days before South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Pyongyang for the third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Approximately 20 officials from each side operated at the office until its suspension in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inter-Korean relations peaked in 2018 with Moon and Kim's three summits, but deteriorated after a meeting between Kim and then US President Donald Trump in Hanoi fell through in February 2019.

Senior researcher Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification told AFP that it is improbable North Korea would accept responsibility and pay the damages. The North maintains the demolition was justified and a response to perceived South Korean faults. The South Korean government, through its Unification Ministry, expressed hope that inter-Korean dialogue would resume and that all issues between the two Koreas could be settled through dialogue and cooperation.