04468
October 19, 2004

Church leaders to deliberate on peaceful, united, nuclear-free Korea 

by Michael Mettason
Ecumenical News International

BANGKOK — Church representatives from North and South Korea have joined other groups at a meeting in Japan to promote peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula and stem the threat of nuclear proliferation. 

      They are meeting in an Oct. 17-21 consultation taking place in Tozanso, near Tokyo, to mark anniversary of a similar gathering at the same place 20 years ago.

      “The meeting also aims at strengthening the churches’ commitment to peaceful reunification by improving their mutual communication and opening possibilities of joint prayer, reflection and action,” said the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, which is organizing the meeting with the Christian Conference of Asia.

      In 1984, the two church groupings first organized an ecumenical gathering in Tozanso, in Shizuoka prefecture, to defuse tensions and work for a united Korea.

      “Korean Peninsula — a flashpoint in North East Asia” is the theme of the meeting that will review and analyze present developments in the Korean Peninsula, and is expected to produce a common peace plan, the WCC said in a statement released on Oct. 13.

      Participants will grapple with the risk of nuclear proliferation as well as prospects for stalled six-party talks between North and South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States that restarted in 2003. 

      Former U.S. ambassador to South Korea James Laney is scheduled to offer an assessment of the six-party talks and the possibilities of an amicable settlement.

      In August, the WCC executive committee appealed to the international community to help lift sanctions against North Korea and to restore humanitarian aid to defeat hunger and malnutrition in the country. 

      “The grave humanitarian crisis of hunger, chronic malnutrition and related disease facing the North Korean people are a challenge not only to the churches, but also to the conscience of the entire international community,” said the committee after completing its Aug. 24-27 meeting in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

      The most recent WCC executive committee statement on Korea is available on the Web site: www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/korea-korea.html