Court Orders North Korea to Pay 44.6 Billion Won for Inter-Korean Liaison Office Bombing: How Will the Ruling Be Enforced?

[Anchor]

A court has ruled that North Korea, which unilaterally blew up the inter-Korean joint liaison office six years ago, must pay 44.6 billion won in damages to the South Korean government. Although this is the outcome of the first lawsuit filed by our government against North Korea, it is considered unlikely that the actual compensation can be collected.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the details.

[Reporter]

Amid a loud roar, the four-story inter-Korean joint liaison office in Gaeseong collapsed, and the exterior walls and windows of the 15-story joint support center building also crumbled down.

The inter-Korean joint liaison office was established in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in September 2018, following the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration by the leaders of the two Koreas.

However, two years later in June 2020, North Korea unilaterally blew up the liaison office, taking issue with anti-Pyongyang leaflet distributions by some North Korean defector groups.

[North Korea's Korean Central Television (June 2020): The North-South joint liaison office was tragically destroyed with a thunderous explosion.]

The South Korean government filed a damage lawsuit two days before the statute of limitations on claims expired three years later.

The plaintiff was the Republic of Korea, and the defendant was the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

[Koo Byung-sam / Then Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification (June 14, 2023): North Korea's violent demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office is legally and clearly an illegal act.]

The court ruled that North Korea must pay approximately 44.62 billion won in damages for the liaison office and joint support center claimed by our government.

This recognized North Korea's unilateral destruction of facilities as an infringement on property rights.

The court stated, "It is an act that severely infringed upon the property of our government," adding, "It is not a simple violation of an inter-Korean agreement, but an unconstitutional provocative act that violates the principle of peaceful unification."

However, the possibility of North Korea complying with our court's ruling is slim, and there are practically no means to enforce the fulfillment of the compensation.

Even if an attempt is made to bring the case to the International Court of Justice, mutual consent is required, making referral itself impossible if North Korea refuses.

The Ministry of Unification stated, "We will review necessary measures" and added, "We hope that inter-Korean issues can be resolved through dialogue and cooperation."

(Video by Kim Seung-tae | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.