Inter-Korean Liaison Office bombing | |
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Part of Korean conflict | |
Location | Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kaesong Industrial Region, Inter-Korean Liaison Office |
Coordinates | 37°55′58.7″N 126°37′18.7″E / 37.932972°N 126.621861°E |
Date | June 16, 2020 |
Attack type | Demolition |
Perpetrators | Kim Yo-jong |
Motive | North Korea claims South Korea violated Article 2(1) of the Panmunjom Declaration[1] |
Verdict | Inter-Korean Liaison Office bombed Korean relations deteriorate, Korean Peninsula tense |
Inter-Korean Liaison Office bombing (Korean: 남북공동연락사무소 폭파사건; lit. Inter-Korean Liaison Office Demolition Incident) refers to the bombing of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office located in Kaesong, Democratic People's Republic of Korea on June 16, 2020. The two Koreas decided to close the office on January 30 in response to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the South Korean staff left on the same day. However, during the closure of the Joint Liaison Office, the North Koreans were dissatisfied with a group of defectors spreading leaflets along the demilitarized zone and sent the Korean People's Army to blow up the building on June 16, accusing South Korea's violation of the Panmunjom Declaration, a move that is said to have worsened North Korea–South Korea relations and strained the situation on the Korean Peninsula.