Ruling in Seoul suit against Pyongyang over liaison office destruction pushed to next month

The government has asked a Seoul court to postpone its ruling in a damages suit against North Korea over the 2020 demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong, an official from the Ministry of Unification said Tuesday.

The ministry sued North Korea in June 2023 over the incident, seeking compensation — the first time the South Korean government has taken legal action against the North.

"We have requested the postponement because there is a need to review post-ruling measures, given this is the first legal case the government has filed against North Korea," the official said.

The ruling had been set for Wednesday but was pushed back to Sept. 16 at the ministry's request.

"The ministry is not considering canceling the case at this point," the official added.

The lawsuit, filed with the Seoul Central District Court against North Korea, seeks 44.7 billion won ($31.6 million) in damages for losses to South Korean state property, according to the ministry.

The North blew up the joint liaison office in Kaesong on June 16, 2020, in protest over Seoul's failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

The total damages include 10.25 billion won for the liaison office itself and 34.45 billon won for an adjacent support facility, which was seriously damaged by the fallout of the demolition, according to the ministry.

Seoul's legal actions against the North, however, appear to be largely symbolic, since there is virtually no way for the South to actually collect compensation from the North. Even if it wins the case, the government has no means of forcing Pyongyang to pay.

The two Koreas opened the liaison office in September 2018 to facilitate inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, amid a reconciliatory mood created by summit talks between their leaders in April that year. The office suspended its operations in January 2020 due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yonhap