A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered North Korea to pay the South Korean government roughly $32.6 million (44.6 billion won) in damages for destroying the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong near the border in 2020, the first such case in which the South has directly sued the DPRK.

Under the Seoul Central District Court’s ruling, North Korea must pay an annual 5% interest on top of the damages from June 16, 2020, to June 7, 2025. The interest rate will increase to 12% each year from June 8, 2025, until the damages are fully paid.

Pyongyang must also cover legal