A suspended joint industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong is seen from the South Korean border city of Paju, north of Seoul, on Feb. 8, 2021, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the suspension. South Korea, under the Park Geun-hye administration, announced on Feb. 10, 2016, that it would suspend the complex, citing Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test and rocket launches. (Yonhap)A North Korean firm filed a lawsuit against a South Korean company in 2019 to claim payment related to a business deal, sources here said Thursday, a rare legal battle between businesses from the two Koreas.

The company affiliated with Pyongyang's national economic cooperation federation filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court seeking 5.3 billion won ($4.7 million) for its alleged unpaid supply, according to the sources.

Their names have not been made available.

The North Korean firm reportedly inked a deal to provide some 2,600 tons of zinc to the South Korean company in 2010, but claims that it has not received 5.3 billion won for the supply. The South Korean firm claims that it paid the money.

The case reportedly marked the first time that a North Korean company has filed a lawsuit against a South Korean firm.

South and North Korea are technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Almost all exchange between the two Koreas has come to a halt amid recently chilled cross-border ties. (Yonhap)