wfn.org | NCC/CWS Ecumenical Delegation to North, South Korea Nov. 2003

["Natl Council of Churches/Church World Service News" <nccc_usa@ncccusa.org>]

For Immediate Release

NCC, CWS Executives to Lead Delegation to North, South Korea;
Group's Agenda: Humanitarian Aid, Search for Peace and Justice

October 21, 2003, NEW YORK CITY -- Delivery of humanitarian aid to North
Korea and participation in an international Interfaith Peace Conference in
South Korea top the agenda of a U.S. ecumenical delegation visit to the
Korean peninsula this November.

Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches
USA (NCC), and the Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director of the global
humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS), will lead the delegation.

Hosting the delegation will be two long-standing NCC/CWS ecumenical
partners: the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), based in Seoul,
and the Korean Christians Federation (KCF), based in Pyongyang.

The visit marks the culmination of a three-part initiative that began with
an April 11, 2003, meeting, held in Chicago, of representatives of member
denominations to address the burgeoning political and humanitarian crisis on
the Korean peninsula.

They outlined a strategy that led to a June 16-18 consultation in
Washington, D.C., at which North American and South Korean church leaders
joined humanitarian and Korea experts in calling for the U.S. government to
promote a peaceful solution to the crisis.  (The SARS epidemic prevented a
church delegation from North Korea from participating.)

Consultation participants called on the United States to renounce its
pre-emptive strike policy, expressed concern about North Korea's nuclear
program, urged resumption of peace talks and issued a plea for humanitarian
aid for North Korea.  U.S. and South Korean ecumenical leaders followed up
on June 19 with talks with high officials at the U.S. Department of State
and the National Security Council.

Central to the group's agenda Nov. 11-15 in Pyongyang will be monitoring of
the distribution of 420 metric tons (132,000 pounds) of refined wheat flour,
donated by CWS as part of its ongoing North Korea Appeal, and assessment of
future humanitarian needs through site visits and talks with the
international aid community in North Korea.

The nearly $100,000 ($99,960) to cover costs of the shipment was raised from
NCC/CWS member denominations, including a special $50,000 contribution from
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The shipment fills seven railway wagons, each carrying 2,400 55-pound bags
of flour - enough for some 132,000 loaves of bread.  The flour is to be
distributed among baby homes, children's centers and maternity hospitals.
It will bring to $4,349,989 the total of food aid provided by CWS to North
Korea since the outbreak of the food crisis in 1996.

In South Korea Nov. 15-19, the delegation's agenda includes a specially
convened NCCK Assembly, which will hear a report about the delegation's
visit to the North from the Rev. McCullough, and an international Interfaith
Peace Conference, at which Dr. Edgar is slated to give the keynote speech.

"The most urgent task at this point is to eliminate the possibility of a war
on the Korean peninsula," states the invitation to the Nov. 17-18
conference, being hosted by the Korea Peace Forum.  More than 20 religious
leaders from outside Korea are expected to take part in this discussion of
the role of religious leaders for peace on the Korean peninsula under the
theme "From Ceasefire to Peace: Peace Making Role of World Religions."

The delegation also has requested meetings with top government officials as
part of its program in both the North and the South.

In addition to Dr. Edgar and the Rev. McCullough, delegation members include
Brian Grieves, Officer for Peace and Justice Ministries of The Episcopal
Church, New York City; Mervin Keeney, Director Global Mission Partnerships,
Church of the Brethren, Elgin, Ill.; Victor Hsu, Senior Advisor to the
Church World Service Executive Director, New York City; Nicholas Kristof,
columnist for The New York Times, New York City; Sara Lisherness,
Coordinator, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
Louisville, Ky., and Zhu Xiaoling, Area Executive for East Asia and the
Pacific, United Church of Christ/Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
Cleveland, Ohio.

The National Council of Churches USA is the nation's leading ecumenical
agency, comprising 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican member churches -
which, in turn, count 50 million adherents in 140,000 local congregations.

Church World Service is a cooperative humanitarian ministry of the NCC's
member denominations, providing sustainable self-help and development,
disaster relief and refugee assistance in more than 80 countries.

-end-

NCC Media Contact Carol Fouke: 212-870-2252/2227; cfouke@ncccusa.org
CWS Media Contact Ann Walle: 212-870-2654; awalle@churchworldservice.org

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