North Korea destroys empty liaison office with South
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AP
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry via Yonhap News Agency,
an image from a thermal observation device showing the explosion of an inter-Korean liaison office building in North Korea's Kaesong is seen from Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, June 16, 2020. North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just inside its border in an act Tuesday that sharply raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy with the United States.(South Korea Defense Ministry/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has blown up an inter-Korean liaison office building just north of the heavily armed border with South Korea.
The demolition of the empty building is largely symbolic.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
A South Korean army soldier patrols at the Unification Bridge, which leads to the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea. Tuesday, June 16, 2020. North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just inside its border in an act Tuesday that sharply raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy with the United States. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
But it's still the most provocative thing North Korea has done since it entered nuclear diplomacy in 2018 after a U.S.-North Korean standoff had many fearing war.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
South Korean army's K-55 self-propelled howitzers are seen at the border with North Korea, South Korea, Tuesday, June 16, 2020. North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just inside its border in an act Tuesday that sharply raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy with the United States. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
It will pose a serious setback to the efforts of liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in to restore inter-Korean engagement.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the nation destroyed the office in a "terrific explosion."
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