In a first, South Korea sues North Korea over destroyed liaison office

ANKARA

South Korea on Wednesday filed, in what is the first since the division of the Korean Peninsula, a damages suit against North Korea over the demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office at the border area in 2020, local media reported.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said they filed the lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court seeking $35 million in damages claim.

This is the first time that the South Korean government filed such a lawsuit against North Korea, Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

"North Korea's demolition of the liaison office in a violent manner is blatantly an illegal act. The North has also violated related inter-Korean agreements and fundamentally has undermined the basis of mutual respect and trust between the two Koreas," the ministry was quoted as saying.

Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in its Kaesong border district in 2020, just days after Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had warned of such a move after tensions escalated over propaganda leaflets sent into North Korea from South Korea.

Under local law, any property damages suit can be filed within three years, however, June 16 will mark three years since Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office after it was established in 2018 to facilitate inter-Korean exchanges.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid