Document
On Tuesday 15 October, North Korea blew up the northern sections of road and rail routes that once linked it with South Korea. While the demolition of these unused routes was largely symbolic, it amplifies the new policy declared by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in January, wherein he officially severed relations with South Korea and abandoned the long-stated goal of achieving peaceful Korean re-unification. This demonstration of intent further accelerates the increasing tensions and confrontation between North and South, following claims by the North that the South had flown drones over its capital Pyongyang.
Moreover, recent reports that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia, as well as providing armaments to support Russia’s invasion and war in Ukraine, indicate very troubling interconnections in a widening matrix of conflicts globally.
The WCC renews its call for restraint and measures to reduce tensions, and for engagement in dialogue and cooperation rather than confrontation and conflict on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in other situations of conflict and tension around the world. Conflict on the Korean Peninsula threatens catastrophic consequences for all the Korean people, the region, and the world.
One month ago, in September 2024, together with senior WCC staff I participated in events in Seoul marking the centenary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), where a major focus was on the history and future of ecumenical efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula. In a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, while acknowledging the depth of the current low point of division and confrontation between North and South, I reiterated WCC’s commitment to renewed and strengthened efforts for peaceful co-existence in the region and unity of the Korean people, despite the diverging trajectories of the two countries.
Indeed, it is especially in such a difficult and challenging moment that the ecumenical commitment to just and sustainable peace must be reasserted and reinvigorated.
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
general secretary
World Council of Churches
