(../../../../favicon_aje.ico) Seoul court orders North Korea to pay $32.5m for blowing up office | Conflict News | Al Jazeera    (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/seoul-court-orders-north-korea-to-pay-32-5m-for-blowing-up-office)                                             (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/9/16/seoul-court-orders-north-korea-to-pay-32-5m-for-blowing-up-office)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-16T031659Z_778856035_RC23KNA4WVWZ_RTRMADP_3_NORTHKOREA-SOUTHKOREA-1789531681.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)  (../../../../wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-16T031659Z_778856035_RC23KNA4WVWZ_RTRMADP_3_NORTHKOREA-SOUTHKOREA-1789531681.jpg@resize=770,513&quality=80)     (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (../../../../static/css/vendor~main~d08ff9cb.24bf1742.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~748942c6.6c6e15fe.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~b07b7304.e3bc53a0.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~6e6dca10.74fd263a.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~5db14389.c7afea12.r2.chunk.css) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Bold.52bb58c8.woff2) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Regular.c5bf51b6.woff2)  (../../../../static/css/vendor~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-blo~5f903362.2e08e417.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~41c72a2c.3f309873.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~06be7c11.0625e98d.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/pages/article-page~493df0b3.accd71c7.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)   Skip links (seoul-court-orders-north-korea-to-pay-32-5m-for-blowing-up-office@traffic_source=rss.html#main-content-area) Skip to Content  (https://www.aljazeera.com/)          (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Sign up  Show navigation menu     Navigation menu (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News    Show more news sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/) Africa   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/) Asia   (https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/) US & Canada   (https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/) Latin America   (https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/) Europe   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/) Asia Pacific      (https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/) Middle East   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/) Explained   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports) Sport   (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/) Opinion   (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/) Video   More   Show more sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/) Features   (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/) Economy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/) Human Rights   (https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis) Climate Crisis   (https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/) Investigations   (https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/) Interactives   (https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/) In Pictures   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/) Science & Technology   (https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts) Podcasts   (https://www.aljazeera.com/travel) Travel   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored/) Sponsored Content        (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Click here to search search     Sign up        (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News |(https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/conflict/) Conflict   Seoul court orders North Korea to pay $32.5m for blowing up office Pyongyang blew up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office building in June 2020 after days of rising tensions.   Listen   Listen (2 mins)       Save       Share Seoul court orders North Korea to pay $32.5m for blowing up office on social media share-nodes    Share (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2F7iiu9z) facebook      (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Seoul%20court%20orders%20North%20Korea%20to%20pay%20%2432.5m%20for%20blowing%20up%20office&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2F7iiu9z) x    (whatsapp://send?text=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2F7iiu9z) whatsapp-stroke    (https://aje.news/7iiu9z)  copylink          google       Add Al Jazeera on Google  info      (A view of an explosion of a joint liaison office with South Korea in the North Korean border town of Kaesong in this picture supplied by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 16, 2020 [File: KCNA/Reuters])   A view of an explosion of a joint liaison office with South Korea in the North Korean border town of Kaesong in this picture supplied by the Korean Central News Agency on June 16, 2020 [KCNA via Reuters]   By  AFP   Published On 16 Sep 2026 16 Sep 2026    A court in Seoul has ordered Pyongyang to pay roughly $32.5m for blowing up an office in North Korea in 2020 that was intended to foster better relations between the two neighbours. “The court has ruled the North should pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages,” a spokeswoman for the Seoul Central District Court told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-drone-headed-for-mecca) Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Mecca  list 2 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/trump-administration-plans-2-8bn-sale-of-2000-pound-bombs-to-israel) Trump administration plans $2.8bn sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel  list 3 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/chinas-defence-chief-warns-against-coercion-avoids-us-japan-mention) China’s defence chief warns against coercion, avoids US, Japan mention   end of list  The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time the South Korean government has sought damages directly from the North Korean state, media reports said. The office building was constructed in the dormant Kaesong Industrial Complex, where South Korean companies once employed North Korean workers. However, Pyongyang blew up the building in June 2020 after days of rising tensions when activists in the South sent balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, with the North denouncing the office as “useless”. South Korea said it would “review the necessary follow-up measures”, though experts consider it unlikely that Pyongyang would ever pay damages over the demolition of the building in the North Korean city of Kaesong. The case was filed in 2023 under the government of then-South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol, who took a hard line on North Korea before he was ousted following his disastrous martial law declaration. The office opened in September 2018, days before then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in travelled to Pyongyang for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Advertisement    About 20 officials from each side were stationed at the office in the following months until operations were suspended in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inter-Korean relations reached a high point in 2018, when Moon and Kim held three summits. But ties deteriorated after a meeting between Kim and United States President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, collapsed in February 2019.            aj-logo             aj-logo             aj-logo       Advertisement          About About   Show more  (https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us) About Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/) Code of Ethics   (https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/) Terms and Conditions   (https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/) EU/EEA Regulatory Notice   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/) Privacy Policy   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/) Cookie Policy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Cookie Preferences    (https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/) Accessibility Statement   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap) Sitemap   (https://careers.aljazeera.net/) Work for us      Connect Connect   Show more  (https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6) Contact Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help) User Accounts Help   (https://commercial.aljazeera.net/) Advertise with us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected) Stay Connected   (https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters) Newsletters   (https://sat.aljazeera.net/en) Channel Finder   (https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/) TV Schedule   (https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/) Podcasts   (https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/) Submit a Tip   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored) Paid Partner Content      Our Channels Our Channels   Show more  (http://aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Arabic   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Al Jazeera English   (https://www.ajiunit.com/) Al Jazeera Investigative Unit   (https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/) Al Jazeera Mubasher   (http://doc.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Documentary   (http://balkans.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Balkans   (http://ajplus.net/) AJ+      Our Network Our Network   Show more  (http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/) Al Jazeera Centre for Studies   (http://training.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Media Institute   (http://learning.aljazeera.net/) Learn Arabic   (http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en) Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights   (http://forum.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Forum   (https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en) Al Jazeera Hotel Partners        Follow Al Jazeera English: (https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera) facebook       (https://twitter.com/ajenglish) twitter     (https://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish) youtube     (https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/?hl=en) instagram-colored-outline                          (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml) rss     (https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com) bluesky     (https://www.tiktok.com/@aljazeeraenglish) tiktok-colored-outline                  (Al Jazeera Media Network logo)   © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network