Document
Rev. Oh Kyung Woo
General Secretary
The Korean Christian Federation
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Dear Rev. Oh Kyung Woo,
It is with great sorrow that we learned of the sad demise of the Rev. Kang Young -sup, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Christian Federation (KCF). On behalf of the World Council of Churches, I express our deep sorrow and prayers in support of both his bereaved family and all members of the KCF.
Rev. Kang Young-sup will always be remembered as one of the great Christian leaders in North Korea. The WCC had the privilege of working very closely with him over the past several decades. He participated in various programmes of the WCC including the last three WCC assemblies – Canberra, Harare and Porto Allegro. His last visit to the Council was in 2004 for a meeting organized by the WCC between North and South Korean Church. He was also a main speaker at the 25th anniversary of the Tozanso process, organized by the WCC in Hong Kong in October 2009. He was the WCC’s main contact within the KCF for years and helped to facilitate theWCC’s official visits by two of my predecessors to the DPRK.
As a patriotic religious leader in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Rev. Kang Young-sup played an important role in nation building as well as in working for peace and reconciliation on the divided Korean peninsula.
We thank God for the life and witness of Rev. Kang Young-sup. Please convey our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, and to the members of Central Committee of the KCF.
May his soul rest in peace, and may we all find comfort and confidence in the sure hope of the resurrection to eternal life.
Yours in His Service,
Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit
WCC general secretary
