South Korean court orders North

A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won ($32.5 million) in damages over its 2020 demolition of an inter-Korean liaison

office, South Korean media reported.





South Korea's previous conservative government, led by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, filed the suit in June 2023.

2024 martial law declaration.



The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favour of the South Korean government, ordering Pyongyang to pay the full 44.6 billion won sought by Seoul for the demolition of the building.



The court also ordered North Korea to bear the litigation costs.



The court and North Korea's embassy in Beijing did not

immediately respond to requests for comment. Seoul's Unification Ministry also said it respected the court's

ruling and would review necessary follow-up measures.



The ministry also said it hoped inter-Korean dialogue would

resume so that issues between the Koreas could be resolved

through cooperation.



The government said at the time that North Korea's demolition of the liaison office was "clearly illegal under the law" and that the lawsuit was filed in 2023 to suspend the statute of limitations on the damages claim, which was due to

expire that year.



North Korea blew up the liaison office building in the Kaesong industrial complex on June 16, 2020, citing the scattering of propaganda leaflets across the border by a group of North Korean defectors.



Immediately after the blast, the South Korean government said responsibility for all consequences arising from it lay entirely with the North.



The Kaesong liaison office had been set up under the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration to serve as a round-the-clock communication and consultation channel between the two Koreas.