In the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the building functioned as a de facto embassy and provided a direct communication channel for the two nations.

[1] It was headed by North Korean Representative Jon Jong-su (전종수), vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and South Korean Representative Chun Hae-sung (천해성), vice minister of the Ministry of Unification.

The construction cost at the time was 8.0 billion KRW ($7.1 million) paid by the South Korean government.

[13] On 13 June, three days before the building was destroyed, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of Kim Jong-un, had predicted the collapse of the building as a retaliation for a failure by South Korea to crack down on North Korean defectors living in South Korea who used balloons to send anti-North Korean regime leaflets across the border.

[18] A statement released by the Blue House, South Korea's executive office, said that the building's destruction "is an act that goes against the expectations of those who wish for the development of South-North relations and the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula," and that "the government makes it clear that the responsibility for everything that follows this is entirely on the North's side.