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A Seoul court has ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won ($32.5 million) in damages for demolishing an inter-Korean liaison office built to improve relations between the two Koreas in 2020.
The ruling marks the first time the South Korean government has sought compensation directly from the North Korean state over the destruction of government property, according to local media reports.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Pyongyang was responsible for demolishing the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. A court spokeswoman confirmed the decision, saying, “The court has ruled the North should pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages.”
The building, located inside the now-inactive Kaesong Industrial Complex, opened in September 2018 as a symbol of cooperation between the two countries. The complex previously hosted South Korean companies that employed North Korean workers.
About 20 officials from each side worked at the liaison office before operations were suspended in January 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facility was destroyed in June 2020 after relations between the two Koreas deteriorated. Tensions had increased following the activities of activists in South Korea who sent balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. North Korea criticised the office as “useless” before ordering its demolition.
The lawsuit was filed in 2023 during the administration of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose government adopted a tougher approach towards North Korea.
However, analysts say the chances of Pyongyang accepting the ruling or paying the compensation are limited.
“It is simply impossible for the North to accept the responsibility and pay the damages,” Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.
“The North’s position on the demolition is clear: it maintains that the move was justified and was taken in response to faults by the South,” he added.
Inter-Korean relations improved significantly in 2018, when former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held three summits. However, ties worsened after a 2019 meeting between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi failed to produce an agreement.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the government would “review the necessary follow-up measures” while expressing hope that future disputes between the two countries could be resolved through dialogue and cooperation.
