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On 19 April, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed recent initiatives to establish meaningful and constructive dialogue between the United States of America and North Korea.

A wide-ranging group of evangelical leaders and pastors from the USA released a joint call on 27 March for Christians everywhere to pray for peace on the Korean peninsula.

On 9 March the National Council of Churches of Korea (NCCK) commented on the news that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), while agreeing to cease missile tests, has requested a summit meeting with the United States, and that President Trump has agreed to a meeting with the DPRK by May.

The World Council of Churches welcomed historic meetings on 5-6 March between a South Korean special envoy delegation and North Korean leadership in Pyongyang, the first high-level direct talks between the two Koreas in more than a decade.

A group of German ecumenical activists including former WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser has criticised the German government for its failure to support the United Nations treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. “It has become clear to many people in recent months that nuclear weapons do not offer lasting security and protection, but remain a continuing threat to humanity and creation,” the ecumenical activists said in an appeal published in Berlin on 20 February, referring to the stand-off between the United States and North Korea.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, will participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos from 24-26 January, 2018. If you are interested in more information or in arranging an interview with Dr Tveit, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

"I think it is wonderful that ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, we really need this when we see what today’s superpowers are doing. We all want peace on earth!"

The visit to China will begin the celebration of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 70th anniversary. In Beijing on 7 January, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit preached in Chongwenmen Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in China, on the theme “Jesus Christ, the Joy of the World.”

Amid continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Christians in Seoul are hoping the fragile light of candles will illumine a path to peace. Along with Christian groups around the world, they are holding candlelight vigils for peace during the season of Advent.

In a global campaign “A Light of Peace”, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites people across the globe to unite in the prayers for the Korean Peninsula and for a world free from nuclear weapons.

Amid continuing tension and conflict on the Korean Peninsula that threatens peace and the security of the Korean people, the World Council of Churches (WCC) called its member churches to participate in “A Light of Peace” campaign during Advent.

The WCC Executive Committee met in Amman, Jordan from 17-23 November to approve the 2018 plan and budget and prepare for renewal of the WCC strategic plan. The Executive Committee also discerned the way forward for the WCC’s involvement in Palestine and Israel by learning more about the particular situation in Jordan and the Middle East, then discussing the challenges of the churches and the WCC response. The Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, All Palestine and Jordan, Theophilos III, welcomed the group.

In a global campaign, the WCC invites people across the globe to extend “A Light of Peace” for the Korean Peninsula and for a world free from nuclear weapons.

"The world must listen to the people of Korea. They do not want war. They want peace.” Those are the words of Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, as he reflected what was on the minds of several dozen people from all over the world who attended a videoconference on the Korea crisis on 5 October.

On 20 September at the United Nations in New York, a treaty to ban nuclear weapons was formally opened for signature. At the time of writing, some 49 states have signed.

In Togo, leaders of the Evangelical Presbyterian and Methodist churches have issued a joint message calling for peace and unity after demonstrations on 19 August in Lomé and other cities.

Following North Korea’s 6th nuclear weapon test on Sunday 3 September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) redoubled its calls to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula through negotiation rather than spiraling confrontation.

The 78-year-old sociology professor recently inaugurated as President of the (South) Korean Red Cross had his first contacts with the divided North while working at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, where he served for more than 17 years until 1999.