RECONCILIATION   REUNIFICATION

WCC Co-operation with North Korea

As you may know WCC has been working co-operatively with the churches, people and government of North Korea since its Tozanso meeting in 1984. Since then WCC has convened under CCIA co-ordination various meetings such as Glion I, II and III and the Kyoto meeting in 1995, where North and South Korean church leaders along with ecumenical leaders from other countries met together to discuss the peaceful reunification programme. In this speech I will not go into all the details of such a programme but I will cover the area of co-operation with the churches and the government in North Korea in terms of solidarity and resource sharing.

In July 1988 my visit to North Korea as Asia Secretary of WCC provided a good opportunity to discuss ecumenical sharing of resources with both the churches and the government. Since this event Asia Desk has co-ordinated, on behalf of WCC, this resource sharing with North Korea. Within WCC it was agreed that as far as peace and reunification are concerned they would be under the co-ordination of CCIA Unit III, while resource sharing and solidarity grants would come under the co-ordination of Asia Desk Unit IV. However, despite this division of the work, I would like to emphasise, that even if different desks are handling these two issues, we always come together on a base of mutual discussion. Within WCC it is unthinkable that resource sharing will be separated from the unification programme or vice-versa. They have always been together and will continue to be in the future.

WCC started resource sharing with the government of North Korea and since 1989, through close co-operation with CCFD (Comité Catholique contre la Faim et pour le Developpement, a Catholic humanitarian organisation) and UNESCO, Paris the following projects have been implemented. They have been co-funded by these three organisations and endorsed by South and North Korean churches.

The above three projects have been successfully implemented through the co-ordination of the Ministry of Higher Education in North Korea.

With regard to church collaboration, when the Bong Soo church in Pyongyang was inaugurated in 1989, funds were contributed under the co-ordination of Asia Desk for items such as an altar, organ, piano, electric fans, carpets and furniture for the church as well as for the Pyongyang Theological Seminary. WCC will continue to co-ordinate various resource sharing activities for the co-activities of KCF and its ecumenical formation programme at the Theological Seminary of Bong Soo and Chill-Goll churches. This resource sharing will continue with your solidarity and support.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to the various churches in the world, especially Bread for the World in Germany and the United Church of Canada who have contributed so faithfully during the last 6 years to the various above-mentioned resource sharing activities.

Let me now come to the WCC - ACT Appeal for the July 1995 Flood victims in North Korea in response to the Korean Christians Federation. As you know our target for the appeal was US$ 1,000,000. Up to now around US$ 800,000 have been raised, some of which went directly to North Korea, but the major part has come through WCC. Last week we made a 1,000 tone rice and grain contract with a German company and this rice will be shipped from Hong Kong to Nampo on 31st January, 1996. WCC hopes to send an ecumenical team headed by myself, to North Korea at the beginning of March, in order to express our concern to the victims of the floods and our readiness to co-operate through our pastoral visits to churches in North Korea. This plan will of course be co-ordinated with KCF, NCC Korea and the government of DPRK.

The following churches have contributed to the flood appeal : the churches in South Korea (NCC, PROK, PCK), the churches in Germany (Bread for the World and Berlin Berliner Missionswerk), Norway (Norwegian Church Aid), Denmark (Danchurchaid), Finland (Finnchurchaid), Holland (Dutch Interchurchaid), NCCC/USA, the Korean Churches in Japan and NCC Japan.

I am aware that further contributions will surely come after our team visit and very much hope that our target will be reached so as to continue expressing our solidarity to the people and churches in North Korea.

For your information, Asia Desk has been channeling funds, under the co-ordination of NCC Korea, from churches in South Korea, to churches in China, the Orthodox Church in Russia and, a couple of years ago, to churches in Rumania.

Thank you