NCC condemns N. Korean nuclear test, urges diplomacy
New York City, October 9, 2006--The North Korean nuclear test today was condemned by the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA. He urged an immediate return to the negotiating table, the so-called "six party talks" that have been stalled.
"Nuclear proliferation can not be good news for the planet," Edgar said in a statement. "I have seen firsthand the effects of nuclear testing on human beings and God's planet when I visited the Marshall Islands [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04nucleardisarmament.html] where the U.S. government tested nuclear weapons after World War II. These are weapons of mass destruction of the worst kind imaginable," said Edgar.
Edgar urgently reaffirmed the NCC's call for the "prompt reconvening of talks with North Korea leading to a non-aggression pact between North Korea and the United States" made in 2003 at a Korean Consultation in Washington, DC, sponsored by the NCC. [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/koreaconsultationconcludes.html]
The NCC and many of its 35 member communions have been active for more than two decades with churches on the Korean peninsula. The Korean Presbyterian Church in America is one of the NCC's member churches. Other NCC member communions have Korean ministries within their churches. There are 45 million members of the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American and peace churches that make up the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
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Statement of the Rev. Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA on news of the North Korean nuclear test
The news of the test by North Korea of nuclear bomb is heartbreaking. Time and time again the National Council of Churches USA and several other religious organizations have spoken up for nuclear disarmament.
"Today I set before you life and death," says the author of Deuteronomy (30:19). Nuclear weapons are the ultimate weapons of mass destruction. No good can come from their use. No good can come from their testing. Nuclear proliferation can not be good news for the planet.
I have seen firsthand the effects of nuclear testing on human beings and God's planet when I visited the Marshall Islands where the U.S. government tested nuclear weapons after World War II. These are weapons of mass destruction of the worst kind imaginable.
We urgently reaffirm our 2003 call for the prompt reconvening of talks with North Korea leading to a non-aggression pact between North Korea and the United States, renouncement of pre-emptive attack and negotiation of a peace treaty replacing the present Armistice Treaty of 1953 and the establishment and exchange of liaison offices between the United States and North Korea as a sign of good faith.
"Choose life," our Deuteronomy author concludes and therefore we should choose a new path with North Korea that leads to peace, nonviolence and a reduction of tensions on the Korean peninsula. This is a critical time in the history of the modern world. God is watching to see what kind of stewards we will be of that world with which we have been entrusted.
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NCC News contact: Dan Webster, 212.870.2252, NCCnews@ncccusa.org