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In a letter to Park Geun-hye, president of South Korea, the WCC expressed disappointment over sanctions and fines imposed on members of the National Council of Churches in (South) Korea after they participated in a dialogue encounter with representatives of the (North) Korean Christians Federation.

Following the recent nuclear test conducted by North Korea, the WCC is calling on all parties involved in the current situation on the Korean peninsula – especially South Korea, North Korea, the USA, Japan and China – to “invest in initiatives to reduce tensions, to promote dialogue and to encourage negotiations for an end to the suspended state of war, and for peaceful co-existence on the Korean peninsula, rather than measures that increase the risk of catastrophic conflict“, according to WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Jayonta Adhikari, a Bangladeshi member of the WCC Central Committee, speaks about socio-political realities for Christians in his country, aspirations for protection of human rights, as well as what the WCC's call for a “pilgrimage of justice of peace” means for the region’s churches.

Thirteen years after the bomb attack at the Catholic Church of Baniarchar in Bangladesh which killed ten people and injured more than twenty, religious groups hold rally in Dhaka demanding justice.

The WCC has expressed its support for an appeal against a Malaysian court’s decision in October 2013 forbidding the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. This development, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said, risks jeopardizing “fundamental values and the long history of multi-religious co-existence in Malaysia”.

Perspectives of peace-builders, shedding light on how peace can be achieved in communities, societies and nations, were featured at a plenary session of the WCC 10th Assembly. The plenary focusing on the theme of peace included Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee and Korean theologian Dr Chang Yoon Jae.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, has called “peace with justice” a theme central to the work of the WCC. In a report he presented at the WCC 10th Assembly, he shared some of the principal accomplishments and challenges in the work of the WCC over the last seven years.

Talk about peace on the Korean peninsula part of discussions at ecumenical consultation on peace and security issues in Asia.