A Seoul court has ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won (€ 28.2 million) in damages for demolishing an inter-Korean liaison office in 2020, South Korean media reported, in the first ruling on a lawsuit filed by South Korea against Pyongyang.
The case was brought in June 2023 by the conservative administration of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
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Mr Yoon was later removed from office after his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court sided with the South Korean government and awarded the full 44.6 billion won sought over the destruction of the building in the border city of Kaesong, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The court and North Korea’s embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it respected the decision and would consider the follow-up steps required.
It also expressed hope that inter-Korean dialogue could resume, allowing disputes between the two sides to be addressed through cooperation.
South Korea’s government had described the demolition as “clearly illegal under the law” and said the 2023 lawsuit was filed to halt the statute of limitations on its damages claim, which was set to expire that year.
North Korea destroyed the liaison office in the Kaesong industrial complex on June 16, 2020, blaming a campaign by North Korean defectors to send propaganda leaflets across the border.
In the immediate aftermath, Seoul said the North would bear full responsibility for all consequences resulting from the explosion.
The Kaesong liaison office was established under the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration as a permanent communication and consultation channel between the two Koreas.
Seoul estimated the damage at 44.7 billion won, covering the liaison office as well as a nearby inter-Korean economic cooperation support centre that was damaged and left unusable by the blast.
Media reports said Pyongyang was unlikely to respond even if South Korea won the case, while Seoul currently lacks a practical means of compelling North Korea to pay the awarded damages.
The ruling comes as tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula, despite South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to improve relations since taking office last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has rejected those overtures, discarding Pyongyang’s reunification policy and labelling South Korea its most hostile state.
