North Korean state TV shows video of office explosion

North Korean state TV shows video of office explosion

The liaison office in Kaesong - a gleaming blue-glass four-storey structure in an otherwise drab industrial city - was "ruined with a terrific explosion," North Korea's state news agency KCNA has said.

North Korea's state-run television KRT on Wednesday (June 17) aired a video showing the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong being destroyed in a blast.

In the short KRT video, the office building was seen being blown up and a neighbouring 15-story block also partially collapsed in a large explosion.

Destruction of the building, closed since January due to coronavirus fears, represented a major setback to South Korean President Moon Jae-in's efforts to coax North Korea into cooperation.

It also appeared to be a further blow to U.S. President Donald Trump's hopes of persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and open up to the world.

Maxar Technologies, a U.S. space technology company, released a series of four still images showing the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where the office was located.

The company says one of the images from the day before the office was destroyed shows cargo trucks in the area that are not usually in that location.

North Korea on Wednesday (June 17) rejected South Korea's offer to send special envoys to ease escalating tensions over defector activity and stalled reconciliation efforts and vowed to redeploy troops to border areas.

Satellite images released on Wednesday (June 17) show an inter-Korean liaison office before it was destroyed amid rising tensions between the North and South Korea.