The ruling was the first time a South Korean court claimed jurisdiction over Pyongyang or issued a compensation order against its leader, according to a campaign group backing the plaintiffs. The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday ordered the North and leader Kim to pay each of them 21 million won ($17,500), a court spokeswoman told AFP. By the end of the war, there were 170,000 North Korean and Chinese prisoners in the US-led UN forces' POW camps, while 100,000 South Korean and UN troops were held in the North, according to data by the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. Civic groups say some 80 South Korean POWs escaped the North and returned to the South in 2000 and 2001. Lawyers representing the two men welcomed the ruling, saying a South Korean court for the first time "exercised jurisdiction" against "illegal acts committed by Kim Jong Un".

Source: Daily Nation July 08, 2020 04:07 UTC