South Korean court orders North Korea to pay $32.5 million for blowing up joint liaison office

A Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won (about $32.5 million) for blowing up the inter‑Korean liaison office in 2020 — a symbolic ruling because Seoul has no practical way to force payment.
The decision underscores how inter‑Korean diplomacy remains frozen: Kim Jong Un has cut off talks, expanded his nuclear and missile programs, and brushed off Seoul’s outreach.
The Kaesong office was destroyed after a row over anti‑Pyongyang leaflet balloons; its demolition capped the collapse of earlier rapprochement between the Koreas.