ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Cardinal Yeom: the new summit in Pyongyang is "a milestone towards peace"

Friday, 7 September 2018 peace   reconciliation   politics   international politics   wars  

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - "I am very happy that the two Heads of State of North and South Korea decided to meet in Pyongyang again on 18 September, following the preceding 2 historical summits this year. I am also very grateful to God for leading both South and North Korea make headway into the establishment of peace on Korean Peninsula": says Cardinal Andrea Yeom Soo-Jung, Archbishop of Seoul and Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang, to Agenzia Fides, commenting on the official announcement, of the third summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in, to be held in the North Korean capital from September 18 to 20. The meeting shows the progress of relations between the two Koreas and the determination on the denuclearization of the peninsula.
"First of all - the Cardinal points out to Agenzia Fides - I sincerely wish that the upcoming summit in Pyeongyang can be a meaningful milestone which helps prompt implementation of ‘Panmunjom Declaration’, which can mainly be summarized into ‘Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ and ‘Establishment of Peace’. The Korean Church will also pray for the success of the upcoming summit. I kindly ask not only the Korean faithful but all people of God to join us pray for true peace and reconciliation for Korean people while deeply believing in that ‘dialogue is the only pathway to peace’ as Pope Francis emphasized", concluded the Archbishop of Seoul.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un intends to complete the denuclearization of the peninsula by the end of US President Donald Trump's first term in January 2021. This is what Chung Eui-yong, special envoy of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, reporting what was expressed in recent days by Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Kim cited the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear site as a "test of good will", which took place last May, and the work to dismantle the only North Korean missile testing site, which would mean the total suspension of the tests of long-range missiles.
The attention of the Catholic Church in Korea on the process of rapprochement is great: in recent days the third "Forum for the sharing of peace on the Korean peninsula" was held in Seoul, attended by Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of the Church in Asia, gathered on the theme "Human dignity and peace: a journey for the Korean peninsula" (see Fides 3/9/2018). Cardinal Andrea Yeom Soo-Jung, in his opening speech, called for the commitment of the Asian Churches to cooperate in order to "carry out the true mission of humanization and evangelization of the Korean peninsula and of the Asian continent". (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 7/9/2018)


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