Chung Dong-young: "Religious Exchanges Have Also Halted Amid Seven Years of Inter-Korean Disconnection"; Reiterates Call for a Peace Agreement

[Financial News] Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young reiterated that "a peace agreement ending the state of war must be concluded to prevent war and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
Chung made the remarks in a congratulatory address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Ecumenical Peace Conference, held that day at Seoul Cathedral of the Anglican Church of Korea. The event was held under the theme "World Peace and the Korean Peninsula: Churches Building Healing, Reconciliation and Peace."
Chung said, "Blessed are the peacemakers. As stated in Matthew 5:9 of the Gospel of Matthew, where it says that God will call them His children, we must continue working tirelessly so that the warmth of peace and reconciliation can return to this land."
He also reiterated President Lee Jae Myung's firm commitment to peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, expressed in this year's Liberation Day address.
Chung emphasized, "As presented by the National Council of Churches in Korea in February 1988 in the Korean Christian Church Declaration on National Unification and Peace, also known as the 1988 Declaration, a peace agreement ending the state of war must be concluded to prevent war and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
He explained, "When the parties to the unfinished war come together to bring it to an end and establish a sustainable peace regime, we can halt hatred, hostility, anxiety and crises and open the door wide to healing and reconciliation."
Chung said, "More than seven years have passed since dialogue between South and North Korea was severed, and exchanges between the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Korean Christian Federation have also stopped." He added, "However, the barbed-wire fence dividing the Korean Peninsula in two cannot obstruct God's will for peace, harmony and justice."
He said, "I believe that peace and harmony will return to this land through each step we take as instruments of peace."


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