wfn.org | [ENS] Delegation visits Korean peninsula, calls for more

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

Title:[ENS] Delegation visits Korean peninsula, calls for more international
response to crisis

11/26/2003 

Delegation visits Korean peninsula, calls for more international response to
crisis

031126-1 

by James Solheim  

[Episcopal News Service] An ecumenical delegation, sponsored by the National
Council of Churches (NCC) and Church World Service (CWS), visited North and
South Korea in mid-November, returning to the United States and calling for
a broadened response to the political and humanitarian crisis on the
peninsula. 

"Once again the churches in the U.S. are joining with overseas partner
churches to press for a just solution to one of the world's most dangerous
flashpoints," said the Rev. Brian Grieves, director of the Episcopal
Church's office of Peace and Justice Ministries, one of seven members of the
delegation. The Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the NCC, and the
Rev. John McCullough, executive director of CWS, led the visit that marks
the culmination of a year-long initiative.

The Korean Christian Federation (KCF), a long-standing ecumenical partner
based in Pyongyang, hosted the delegation in North Korea. Participants also
attended a specially convened assembly of the National Council of Churches
in Korea in Seoul, South Korea, and attended an international Interfaith
Peace Conference.

A joint statement issued at the end of the visit called for:

* member churches of the NCC to encourage congregations to consider how the
Gospel's call to be peacemakers applies to the Korean situation, be
advocates for peaceful reunification and urge the President to continue
negotiations with North Korea;

* the ecumenical community to nurture ties with the Christians on the Korean
peninsula and renew  cooperation in common advocacy, information sharing,
and regular visits, particularly to the isolated Christian community in the
North;

* encourage the international community to participate in developing ways to
find a sustainable peace for the Koreans based on the conviction that
diplomacy and negotiations are the best approach in the search for durable
solutions;

* a clear statement from the U.S. in favor of a peaceful resolution to the
tensions and a pledge not to preemptively attack North Korea but to conclude
a non-aggression pact that would move all parties toward a comprehensive
peace, formally ending the "state of war" that has existed since 1953;

* a generous response from the international community to the United Nations
appeal for $200 million for humanitarian assistance for North Korea, urging
the Bush Administration to continue the American tradition of generosity and
compassion by raising its contribution substantially.

The delegation itself participated in humanitarian efforts by monitoring the
distribution of 132,000 pounds of refined wheat flour donated by CWS in
North Korea. The shipment filled seven railway cars with enough flour to
make 132,000 loaves of bread. Since the outbreak of the food crisis in 1996,
CWS has provided food aid in North Korea valued at $4.5 million. Aid
officials expressed deep concern about the decline in international
assistance.

A chance for healing and reconciliation

A sobering visit to the Demilitarized Zone at Panmumjon brought home the
tragedy of the division of Korea which has affected an estimated 10 million
family members. Soldiers stand eye-to-eye in what has been described as the
most dangerous border in the world. "Equally sobering to us was the North
Korean understanding of the role that the U.S. played in creating and
perpetuating the division," said CWS senior advisor Victor Hsu, a member of
the delegation.

Delegation members agree that the highlight of the visit to the Protestant
Chigul Church of Pyongyang and a North Korean house church where they prayed
and sang hymns with Korean Christians, offering words of encouragement and
pledging a common commitment to peace and the reunification of Korea.

Grieves said that the encounter provoked thoughts of "these faithful remnant
proclaiming the faith in a tortured land, and of their separation from
brothers and sisters in the South. And I thought of Korean Americans who are
not able to travel to the North. Ending this pain of division is what our
journey and witness was all about. The Korean people have known occupation
and division for nearly a century now and they deserve a chance for healing
and reconciliation and reunification," he said. "Our government needs to
move from confrontation to channels of cooperation while the North and South
work out their destiny."

The delegation met with South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyeon and the
minister of reunification, as well as with the National Council of Churches
in Korea. In response to an invitation from the US Department of State, the
delegation will brief Assistant Secretary James Kelly. The briefing follows
talks last June by American and South Korean ecumenical leaders with
high-level officials at the Department of State and the National Security
Council about the serious political and humanitarian situation on the
peninsula.

-- James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service.