News
This year a “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” will be observed on 14 August by the World Council of Churches (WCC) with the peoples and churches of Korea and of the world.
The special day of prayer follows a visit from a delegation of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the National Council of Churches USA (NCCCUSA) with USA policymakers. The delegation is advocating for a permanent peace treaty between North and South Korea.
“To promote the making of an actual peace treaty is essential,” said Rev. Kim Young Ju, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea at a press conference organised by the NCCCUSA on 28 July 2016. “Unless we have a peace treaty, the problem will become catastrophic.”
“At the same time”, Kim Young Ju said, “economic, military and cultural sanctions by the United Nations against North Korea should be removed. These sanctions have a negative rather than a positive effect on the work for peace, and they affect the poorest of the poor in North Korea the most”.
“We must also achieve denuclearization”, Kim Young Ju concluded, stressing that “you cannot make peace by putting more weapons in the Korean Peninsula”.
Jim Winkler, president and general secretary of the NCCCUSA, noted there have been many consultations between the NCCK and the NCCCUSA over the years. “Many statements and resolutions have been issued,” he said.
In fact, 30 years ago, the NCCCUSA governing board issued a statement that said: “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.”
These words remain appropriate today, reflected Winkler. “Since that statement was issued in 1986, the Berlin Wall has fallen and East and West Germany have been reunited. 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.”
Korea has experienced more than 60 years of war, sanctions, and tension, Winkler said. “Despite our best efforts to bring about a peace treaty, we remain unsuccessful.”
Winkler pledged that the NCCCUSA would work closely with the NCCK to strategically advocate for peace, acknowledging that the NCCK’s presence will help raise awareness in the US in Congress, at the State Department, and in the White House.
Several WCC member churches also observed the anniversary date of a ceasefire on the Korean peninsula on 27 July 1953. They invited their members to join Korean Christians to act for peace by signing a petition or sending an email asking the US government to enter negotiations for a peace treaty.
Each year, the WCC invites Christians and others to join in a prayer for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The prayer is traditionally used on the Sunday before 15 August every year. In 2016, this date falls on 14 August.
Churches invited to join in prayer for peaceful Korean reunification (WCC press release of 4 August 2016)
Peace on Korean Peninsula? - NCC Weekly News 29 July 2016
NCC media advisory: Korean Church Officials Call for Peace Between North and South – 26 July 2016
WCC leaders express concern over situation on the Korean peninsula (WCC press release of 8 January 2016)
WCC video: Seeking Peace: the World Council of Churches and the Korean Peninsula
WCC Pilgrimage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Bishop Mary Ann Swenson
