wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Church leaders call for an inter-Korean confederation prior to reunification

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World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 23/10/2009 16:22:51

CHURCH LEADERS CALL FOR AN INTER-KOREAN CONFEDERATION PRIOR TO

>REUNIFICATION

Nearly 140 leaders from the world's churches, North and South
Koreans among them, have called for the formation of an
inter-Korean confederation even before complete reunification of
the Korea can take place. Agreement was reached at the close of a
three-day meeting in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong where the Christian
leaders expressed unrelenting hope for peace and reconciliation
among Koreans, despite the stark realities of the ongoing
division of the Korean peninsula.

The call for a confederation came in a communiqué developed by
the group at the end of their international consultation on
Korean reunification. The "Tsuen Wan Communiqué (
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=7263 )" says the confederation
option would involve progressive steps such as peaceful
co-existence and the furthering of economic cooperation between
the two Koreas. 

The proposal for an inter-Korean confederation was presented to
the group jointly by church leaders from North and South Korea on
the final day of deliberations.

The "confederation system would respect both governments", said
the Rev. Kang Yong Sop, chairman of the Korea Christian
Federation of North Korea, in a presentation to the group on
Friday morning. 

"North and South Korea must first recognize each other's systems
and engage in cooperation in any field possible, and
institutionalize the results," said Suh Bo Hyug, a member of the
National Council of Churches in Korea's reconciliation and
reunification committee: "Only then will they move closer to
reunification."

The communiqué was the outcome of a consultation on peace,
reconciliation and reunification of the Korean peninsula held 21
to 23 October 2009, sponsored by the World Council of Churches
(WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA).

The purpose of the consultation was to explore the next steps
for churches' involvement in the reunification effort. Church
leaders from 30 different countries, including four church
leaders from North Korea and a delegation of 50 South Koreans,
attended the consultation.

The group explored the geo-political and historical implications
of a divided Korea. It also celebrated the 25th year of the
Tozanso Process which was initiated by the WCC's Commission of
the Churches on International affairs in 1984 as a way to bring
Christian leaders from North and South Korea together to
encourage the goal of reunification.

The Tozanso Process helped to open the relationship between
Christians in North Korea and Christians in South Korea while
also involving WCC member churches from around the world.

Most importantly, the Tozanso Process made it possible for
Christian leaders from North and South Korea to meet repeatedly
over the past 25 years in Switzerland, Macao, Russia, Japan,
Germany and at the assemblies of the WCC in Australia (1991),
Zimbabwe (1998) and Brazil (2006).

In addition to calling for an inter-Korean confederation, church
leaders at the 2009 Tsuen Wan consultation encouraged the
international community to allow North and South Korea to enter
into direct negotiations to ease tensions between the two
countries.

They also called for all sanctions against North Korea imposed
by the United Nations Security Council to be lifted, for
immediate bilateral talks between the United States and North
Korea, and for North and South Korea to implement fully the 15
June 2000 North-South Joint Declaration and the 4 October 2007
Declaration, both of which spelled out a number of goals and
steps toward reunification.

During the past decade, however, there have been some setbacks
in achieving these goals, as hostility between North Korea and
the U.S. has led to the increased militarization of the region. A
change in the South Korean government in February 2008 brought
revisions to that nation's outlook and policies toward North
Korea. There has been a suspension of tourism into North Korea
along with a downturn in economic cooperation.

The communiqué urges the U.S. to end its "hostile policies"
toward North Korea and advocates for the "cessation of all
multinational military exercises in and around the Korean
peninsula".

The group closed the communiqué with the "fervent hope and
prayer" that the Korean people will be reunited soon. "We long
for the day when the people of the Korean peninsula, together
with the world, can join together in thanksgiving and joy to
celebrate that they are again one people and one nation."

The communiqué will be distributed through WCC and CCA member
churches, as well as the broader ecumenical community, and will
be shared with government officials in North and South Korea, the
U.S., Russia, China and Japan.

Media contact in North Korea and Hong Kong: Mark Beach, +41
(0)77 439 3492 (mobile)

>Tsuen Wan Communiqué:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=7263

"The road to reunification is obstructed by potholes":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/the-road-to-reunification.html

"Churches support Korean reunification at Hong Kong
consultation":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/churches-support-korean-r.html

"Kobia and WCC delegation meet North Korean president Kim
Yong-nam":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/kobia-and-wcc-delegation.html

Photo gallery:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/photo-galleries/wcc-visit-to-north-korea-and-china-october-2009.html

WCC programme on Public witness: addressing power, affirming
peace:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=2946

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.