World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 14/08/2007 02:16:11 PM
SIX COUNTRIES' CHURCHES AS WATCHDOG FOR SIX PARTY TALKS
A proposal for a parallel meeting of churches from nations involved in the Six Party Talks on the Korean peninsula was endorsed by a broad range of churches over the weekend at a conference in Seoul celebrating the centenary of the Korean Great Revival of 1907 and exploring the churches' role in bringing peace to the divided nation.
The proposal, which was submitted in a keynote address to the conference by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), recommended churches in the U.S., Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas to "persuade their respective governments to ensure the continuity of these talks to diffuse tension and conflict in the peninsula so that people can live together in peace."
In order to do this, Kobia suggested the churches from the six nations "explore possibilities of organizing a parallel forum of churches" including churches in Canada, Scandinavia and the European Union at the next round of Six Party Talks. The forum would act as a "watchdog" of the talks.
The Six Party Talks began in 2003 after North Korea had withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The talks have remained stalemated until recently when North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities.
The statement from the Korean churches asked the WCC to facilitate the parallel meeting of churches and asked for churches around the world to "recognize that peace and unification in the Korean peninsula is a regional issue with global implications."
The statement also called on the governments of North and South Korea and all participants in the upcoming summit set for August 29-30 to establish plans for economic development and invigorate exchanges between both states at all levels of both societies.
The proposal endorsed at the conference called on the Korean churches to pray for each other and work on articulating a clear understanding of unification on the peninsula while deepening relationships with one another.
The Korean churches represented at the weekend conference included those belonging to the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Christian Council of Korea. More than 300 participants from Korea and 27 countries in Asia and the rest of the world attended the event.
More information on the Korean churches' work for peace and reunification is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/display-single-english-news/article/1637/seeking-peace-between-nor.html
The full text of Rev. Dr Kobia's keynote address is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3955
Read a common prayer for peace and reunification written by the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) in the South and the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) in the North: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3981
This material may be reprinted freely.
Additional information: Juan Michel, +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
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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 347 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.
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