Korea: Cardinal welcomes new North-South peace summit

Cardinal Andrea Yeom Soo-Jung, Archbishop of Seoul and Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang, has welcomed the announcement of a third summit meeting 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.

Cardinal Soo-Jung said: "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 two 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.
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"First of all 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 summarised into 'Denuclearisation 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 denuclearisation 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.

Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of the Church in Asia, recently took part in a forum in Seoul, to discuss the sharing of peace on the Korean peninsula was held in Seoul. 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 humanisation and evangelisation of the Korean peninsula and of the Asian continent".