Christians across the globe will observe a day of prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula this Sunday, 14th August.
This year’s ‘Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula’ comes after a delegation from the National Council of Churches in Korea and the National Council of Churches USA met with policymakers in the US last month to advocate for a permanent peace treaty between North and South Korea.
Rev Kim Young Ju, general secretary of the NCCK, has called for an end to the UN’s economic, military and cultural sanctions on North Korea, saying they had a negative affect on the work for peace and affected “the poorest of the poor in North Korea the most”. Speaking at a press conference during the US visit in late July, he also called for denuclearisation, saying that “you cannot make peace by putting more weapons in the Korean Peninsula”.
Jim Winkler, president and general secretary of the NCCCUSA, said at the press conference in Washington, DC, quoted the words of a statement isssued by the NCCUSA 30 years ago: “As Christians we regard the need to overcome division not primarily from diplomatic or military perspectives, but rather from the side of a suffering, divided people whose pain we are coming to know well: we confess that we share responsibility for their plight and for this we are truly sorry”.
“Since that statement was issued in 1986, the Berlin Wall has fallen and East and West Germany have been reunited,” he said. “The US has reestablished diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The Cold War has ended, apartheid has collapsed in South Africa, and we have entered into a new era of relations with Cuba. A new wall has been erected by Israel against the people of Palestine. And, Korea remains divided and the prospects for a peace treaty remain dim.”
The Korean War ended in July, 1953, with the signing of an armistice which is still in effect today. No permanent plan for peace has yet been established between North and South Korea.
~ http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us
~ http://www.kncc.or.kr
~ http://www.oikoumene.org/
