A South Korean court ordered North Korea to compensate North Korea for 44.6 billion won in damages caused by the bombing of the inter-Korean Liaison Office building.

China News Service, September 16. According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Central District Court of South Korea issued a verdict on the 16th on the damages lawsuit filed by the South Korean government against North Korea. It ruled that North Korea should compensate the South Korean government for approximately 44.6 billion won (approximately 1,371 won per US dollar) for the unilateral bombing of the inter-Korean liaison office building.

According to reports, the court supported the plaintiff’s request for compensation, but did not specify the reasons for the judgment.

Yonhap News Agency pointed out that there have been many cases of individuals filing lawsuits against North Korea, but this is the first time that the South Korean government has filed a lawsuit against North Korea.

On June 16, 2020, North Korea completely blew up the North Korea-South Korea Liaison Office building located in the Kaesong Industrial Park of North Korea at the time. According to the Korean Central News Agency, the DPRK’s move was a countermeasure implemented by relevant departments in order to comply with the will of the people. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification filed a related lawsuit against North Korea in June 2023.

In April 2018, then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un issued the "Panmunjom Declaration" after their meeting in Panmunjom, announcing that both parties would work hard to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the transformation of the armistice mechanism. The inter-Korean Liaison Office is the first inter-Korean liaison office established in the history of North Korea and South Korea based on the content of the Panmunjom Declaration. It officially launched operations in September 2018. The Liaison Office mainly performs functions such as contact and negotiation between North and South Korea, intergovernmental talks and consultations, non-governmental exchanges and assistance, and facilitating personnel exchanges between the two sides.