THE KUKMIN DAILY

On January 16, at the Network for Peace and Unification’s New Year’s reception in Luce Chapel, Yonsei University, Seoul, board chair Park Jong-wha (speaker in photo) said, “Our civilian support to North Korea is nurturing North Korean residents into core forces for reunification.” He said that in preparing for unified Korea, this support is an investment in the future, and that after reunification the Korean church should build churches in the North that can act as local social welfare centers.

In his keynote speech on the theme “The Korean church’s new vision towards peace and reunification,” Park emphasized, “What is needed to bring about reunification is the peaceful co-existence of South and North Korea. Even in this divided situation, South and North need to be in constant communication, in order to achieve reunification in the end.”

Stressing the importance of civilian collaboration, he urged the Korean churches to be proactive. Park said, “In South-North relations, the main partner of Christianity is the North Korean residents, rather than the North Korean government or the system. No dictatorship in the world has been ended by military force. If we want the North Korean regime to collapse, we need to encourage the people’s hearts… To win their hearts, the core element is civilian support, which will move them and ultimately will catalyze changes in the regime. There is some criticism against humanitarian support for North Korea, but in fact such support is the key to opening the door to the North. The Korean churches should bear this in mind.”

Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Full Story in Korean:
“대북 민간지원은 북한의 문 여는 열쇠”: 박종화 평통연대 이사장 대북 민간협력 중요성 역설