Schritte der PROK für Frieden in Ostasien Die Geschichte des Unfriedens auf der koreanischen Halbinsel ist alt:. Japanische Kolonie, 2. Weltkrieg, Trennung in Nord und Süd, Koreakrieg, Militärputsch, Militärregime, Kampf für Menschenrechte und Demokratisierung, Wiedervereinigung 1992 wurde eine Vereinbarung zwischen Nord- und Südkorea geschlossen. Bald schien es, als sei sie nicht viel wert. Dennoch stehen darin die entscheidenden Prinzipien: in Abschnitt 1 - Vereinbarung über Versöhnung in Abschnitt 2 - Abrüstung in Abschnitt 3 - freier Reiseverkehr zwischen beiden Staaten, Zusammenarbeit in Wirtschaft und Medien Was fehlte, war ein Mechanismus, wie andere Staaten am Prozess beteiligt werden können. 2000 - Treffen in Pyöngyang: KIM Dae-Jung und KIM Jong-Il Nord-Süd-Erklärung vom 14. Juni. 2005 - 6-Mächte-Gespräche in Beijing, die ins Stocken geraten sind. Die Konsultation Anfang Mai 2006 mit 26 Kirchen und Organisationen aus der Ökumene (darunter 4 Vertreter aus Deutschland) hat sich den Problemen gestellt und nach Antworten gesucht. Viele Texte werden von der PROK übersetzt und stehen uns zur Verfügung. Danke.

Stellungnahme der PROK zu Überlegungen der japanischen Regierung
All Who Draw the Sword will Perish by the Sword
In Japan werden überlegungen darüber angestellt, ob nicht ein Präventivschlag gegen Nordkorea zu führen ist. Das zuständige Peace Community Movement Center der PROK äußert sich dezidiert:

“All Who Draw the Sword will Perish by the Sword” (Matthew 26:52b)
Statement by the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)
on Japan’s consideration of a pre-emptive strike on North Korea

July 13, 2006
In our statement issued on July 7, 2006 the Peace Community Movement Center of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) appealed to all countries in the North-East Asia region that “peace can not be achieved by weapons” and urged concerned countries to transform the current situation of conflict following the missile tests conducted by North Korea, into a constructive process toward peace.
Today, we are deeply concerned about the reaction by the Japanese government to North Korea’s missile tests. On July 10, some Japanese top government officials and politicians floated the idea of staging a pre-emptive strike against the missile bases in North Korea.
During the Japanese colonial period most Asian countries suffered severely from Japanese tyranny inflicted on the people, and the pain still remains unhealed. It is therefore in this context that we strongly denounce the attempt of the Japanese government to revive its aggressive militarism on the pretext of the North Korea missile tests.
The idea of a pre-emptive strike obviously exposes the nature of the aggression of Japan. The idea itself seriously threatens not only the process of building peace on the Korean peninsula, but also the peace and security of the whole North-East Asia region. It runs contrary to ‘the spirit of the time’ as we all strive for reconciliation, co-existence and co-operation in the region.
Therefore, we oppose any attempt by Japan to carry out a pre-emptive strike against North Korea as it surely intensifies the military tension in the region and eventually will lead all concerned countries to serious military confrontation.
We urge the Japanese government to immediately stop the discussion of the idea of a pre-emptive strike against North Korea and to commit Japan to building peace for the security of their own people in Japan and for peace in North-East Asia.
Yoon Kil-Soo, Rah Haek-Jib, Lee Hae-Hak
Co-Representatives, Peace Community Movement Center
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)

“Peace Can Not Be Achieved By Weapons”
Statement of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)
on the Missile Test-Launching by North Korea

July 7, 2006
The Peace Community Movement Center (PCMC) of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) is deeply disappointed with North Korea’s decision to conduct missile tests on July 5, 2006, when we are consolidating all our efforts to achieve peace and security on the Korean peninsula as well as in the whole North-East Asia region. The missile issue is considered to be a tactic periodically used by North Korea to resolve the deadlock in relations between the USA and North Korea. However, we emphatically assert that this tactic of North Korea is seriously hampering the ongoing efforts of the international community to build peace in the North-East Asia region. The missile testing will surely intensify military tension among the concerned countries and increase international negative sentiment towards North Korea; this will in turn seriously affect the ongoing reconciliation process between North and South Korea.

Peace can not be achieved by weapons. We urge the North Korean government to not seek peace and security by reinforcing military force. We urgently appeal to the North Korean government that peace and security on the Korean peninsula can be achieved only through sincere cooperation and dialogue based on mutual trust between North Korea and neighbouring countries.

We believe that the missile testing by North Korea contributes to the deterioration of relations between North Korea and the US, and between North Korea and Japan. Therefore, we strongly assert that true peace in North-East Asia can not be established without normalizing diplomatic relations between North Korea and the US, and between North Korea and Japan.

At this critical point in time, we appeal once again to all countries in the North-East Asia region: peace can not be achieved by weapons. True peace can not be realized by a false security obtained forcefully by threatening the oppressors. Therefore, we urge all concerned countries to normalize their diplomatic relations with North Korea and transform the current situation of conflict into a constructive process toward peace.

Further, we urge the South Korean government to strengthen its relations with North Korea through cooperation and dialogue, for we believe that crisis can be a sign of hope.

Called by God to be peace-makers, we continue to pray and act together to transform the current crisis resulting from the missile tests into a momentum to open up a new era of dialogue and cooperation. We re-affirm our commitment to building mutual trust among nations in North-East Asia and to working for the ultimate realization of a ‘peace agreement’ on the Korean peninsula and the disarmament of the region.

Yoon Kil-Soo, Rah Haek-Jib, Lee Hae-Hak
Co-Representatives
Peace Community Movement Center
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)

A Letter to President George W. Bush on Peace in East Asia

Date 2006. 7. 3
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,
Church leaders and representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and member churches in Asia, Europe and North America held an International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace in East Asia, in Seoul, Korea on May 2-4, 2006.

We explored ways to work together to build peace in the East Asia region where the cold war continues. Through presentations and discussions, we strongly affirmed that "peacemaking is not part of our mission, it is our mission in our day."

We acknowledged that one of the keys to establishing peace in North-East Asia is the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. However, we also identified further obstacles to peace and stability in North-East Asia: the power struggle between Japan and China; the Taiwan issue; the tension between Japan and North Korea; and [the tension] between the U.S.A. and North Korea. Particularly, we held the common belief that the USA strategic flexibility policy as applied to North-East Asia endangers the region more than it contributes to its security.

It is in this context that the participants of the Consultation proposed that the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) write a letter to you with regard to the following three issues:

First, we oppose any possible pre-emptive attack by the USA against North Korea and Iran. Any attempt to achieve peace and security through violent destruction will only result in further violence. As Christians we believe that true peace can be achieved only through justice, reconciliation and nonviolence. Therefore, we urge you to resolve the current crisis through peaceful means inspired by the spirit of justice, reconciliation and nonviolence.

Second, we urge you to lift the sanctions against North Korea. It is generally understood that the sanctions against North Korea since 1950 have been enforced by the USA in its own political interest. Experts indicate that the sanctions against North Korea have been one of the significant causes of the increasing suffering of the North Korean people. If the USA is really serious in its wish to relieve the suffering of the North Korean people, the US government must immediately lift the sanctions against North Korea.

Third, we urge you to initiate a diplomatic process to replace the armistice of 1953 with a peace agreement. Even though the cold war has ended elsewhere, the legacy of the cold war, the armistice of 1953, still dominates the geo-political situation of the Korean peninsula and the world. This has been an obstacle to the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. Achieving peaceful reunification is also one of the keys to establishing peace in North-East Asia. Therefore, we urge you to consolidate all efforts to replace the armistice of 1953 with a peace agreement.

As an ecumenical church community we continue to pray and act together to achieve peace in the world. In our prayers and actions, we uphold the strong affirmation that dialogue and cooperation, rather than war and oppression, is the best way to achieve peace.

Dear Mr. President, we pray that you and your country will be a critical peace-maker in the world so that all people may live in peace and harmony without threat of war.

On behalf of Christians praying for peace,

Bishop Park Kyung-Jo
President
The National Council of Churches in Korea

Participating churches in the International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace in East Asia, May 2-4, 2006, Seoul, Korea:

Konsultation der Arbeitsgruppe Nordostasien
Nordostasiatische Arbeitsgruppe zu Frieden und Sicherheit der Menschen (NE-Asia Working Group)
Was ist die NE-Asia Working Group und was tut sie?
Sie ist eine Arbeitsgruppe der Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). Ihre Anfänge sind in einer theologischen Konsultation im Jahre 2004 zu suchen. Damals lud das Formosa Christianity and Culture Research Center (FCCRC) zu einer Konsultation „Church and Empire“ nach Taiwan ein (28.-30-Okt. 2004). Kirchenführer, Theologen und Friedensaktivisten aus Asien und Afrika nahmen daran teil. Man war sich darin einig, dass das Problem von Frieden und Sicherheit der Menschen in der nordostasiatischen Region besonderer Aufmerksamkeit bedarf. Darüber hinaus war klar, dass die CCA die Verantwortung für die Koordination der kirchlichen Netzwerke übernehmen müsse.
2005 traf man sich dann wieder in Taiwan, wohin das FCCRC die CCA und die Generalsekretäre der NCCs in der Region eingeladen hatte. Diesmal sollten die Ideen der ersten Konsultation im Jahre 2004 in konkrete, praktizierbare Strukturen gegossen werden. Hier wurde dann die NE-Asia Working Group gegründet, die als erstes eine systematische Struktur entwickeln sollte, mit deren Hilfe Frieden und Sicherheit für die Kirchen und die Menschen in der Region gefördert werden.
Die PROK ist sehr aktiv in diese Gespräche und Strukturen eingebunden, da sie als ihre vornehmste Aufgabe die Förderung von Frieden und Sicherheit ansieht.
Das 2. Treffen der Arbeitsgruppe fand vom 9.-11. September 2005 in Tokyo statt. Hier wurden drei Programme erarbeitet und beschlossen:
1. Pädagogische Initiativen: Schulen für den Frieden, Veröffentlichungen, Vorträge, usw.
2. Bündnisse von Mensch zu Mensch: Regionale Friedenscamps für Kinder, Frauenkonferenzen, Austauschprogramme, usw.
3. Vernetzung mit zivilen Organisationen und multi-religiösen Gruppen: Glaubensübergreifende Schulen für den Frieden, Glaubensübergreifende Katastrophenhilfe, usw.
Die 3. Konsultation fand im Juni 2006 in Seoul statt. Der NCCK und seine Mitgliedskirchen hatten dazu eingeladen. Das war gleichzeitig ein Folgetreffen auf die Internationale Ökumenische Konsultation zum Frieden in Ostasien, die im Mai 2006 in Seoul stattgefunden hatte. Diese hatte ausdrücklich gefordert, dass die Rolle der NE-Asia Working Group gestärkt werde, diese jedoch nicht so sehr als Institution arbeite, sondern vielmehr als dynamische Bewegung.
Die Ergebnisse dieser dritten Konsultation kann man in folgenden 5 Punkten zusammenfassen:
1. Die Anzahl der Mitglieder dieser Arbeitsgruppe soll auf 15 erhöht werden, damit die aktive Zusammenarbeit der Kirchen in der Region gewährleistet werden kann.
2. Das erste pädagogische Programm „Schule für den Frieden“ soll vom 23. Januar – 1. Februar 2007 in Taiwan durchgeführt werden. Hier sollen Mitarbeiter in den Gemeinden der Region eine Fortbildung erhalten.
3. Die Möglichkeit eine Friedenscamps für Kinder in Korea im Jahre 2007 soll untersucht werden, um Kinder an die Spiritualität des Friedens unter Kindern heranzuführen, ähnlich wie dies bereits im vergangenen Jahr in Japan verwirklicht worden ist.
4. Volle Unterstützung für das Programm des NCCJ gegen eine Revision von Artikel 9 der jap. Verfassung, wie dies die Internationale Ökumenische Friedenskonsultation im Mai 2006 gefordert hatte.
5. Aufforderung an die Kirchen in der Region und in der ganzen Welt, sich praktisch an dem „Consortium for Social Development of North Korea“ zu beteiligen. Dieses „Consortium“ wird im Dezember 2006 gebildet, wie es von der Internationalen Ökumenischen Friedenskonsultation im Mai 2006 gefordert worden ist.
Aus: PROK E-News, July 2006.
(Anmerkung der Redaktion: Die DOAM war durch ihren Vertreter, Pfr. Baruth, und Geschäftsführer, Lutz Drescher, an der Friedenskonsultation im Mai 2006 beteiligt und unterstützt voll und ganz die Anliegen, wie sie im Mai entwickelt und von der Arbeitsgruppe aufgenommen worden sind. Wir werden auch künftig von den Aktivitäten berichten.)

Statement of the
International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace in East Asia
von den Vertretern von 26 Kirchen und Organisationen aus der Ökumene

Seoul, Korea May 2-4, 2006
As God’s people, followers of Jesus Christ who was crucified for peace and reconciliation, we church leaders and church representatives from countries in Asia, Europe, and North America have met to study, pray, discuss, and meditate on God’s Word in this International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace in East Asia held in Seoul, Korea May 2-4, 2006. The Conference was under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), and Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK). This meeting stands in the spirit of the conferences first held in Tozanso, Japan in 1984 followed by meetings in Glion, Switzerland and in other places which were initiated by the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia. We thank God that Christians around the world are praying and working continuously for peace and justice in East Asia and for the reunification of Korea.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5: 9) If we take this statement seriously it can give us a new vision of our mission in the world. Peacemaking is not part of our mission; it is our mission in our day. Reflecting upon the Holy Scripture, we strongly affirm the holistic understanding of peace as the central concern and mission of the Church in the world. We reassert our conviction that security is never won through unilateral defense but through attentiveness to the injustice that afflicts other children of God—and, in Gospel perspective, everyone is a child of God! Holding this conviction, we can learn how to build true and lasting peace in the reality of today’s Asia.

Despite the end of the cold war the North-East Asian region still does not experience peace. Under the armistice agreement the division of North and South Korea still remains as a legacy of the cold war. It continues to be a destabilizing factor in the region.

One of the keys to establishing peace in North-East Asia is the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. But the Conference also identified further obstacles to peace and stability in North-East Asia:
• the power struggle between Japan and China,
• the Taiwan issue,
• the tension between Japan and North Korea
• and between the U.S. and North Korea.

We consider that the U.S. strategic flexibility policy as applied to North-East Asia endangers the region more than it contributes to its security. In the global U.S. strategy, Okinawa and the expanded Pyongtaek military base in South Korea are given special geopolitical prominence as major hubs of its military operations. This may lead to situations in which people of various countries in North East Asia become involved in military operations initiated by the US without their consent.

Encouraged by the progress made after the June 15 Joint Declaration of the 2000 South Korea-North Korea Summit, the people of North-East Asia are building a foundation for peace by embracing opportunities for cooperation, exchange and solidarity. The women of the region take a leading role in developing communities of peace by overcoming national, religious and ethnic boundaries. It is in these people and their efforts that we find hope for peace.

We as Christians are called to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized and seek cooperation with all people committed to peace and reconciliation in East Asia.

We propose that:
• The World Council of Churches (WCC) in consultation with the Korean Christian Federation in North Korea establish a “Round Table” for the development of North Korea;
• The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) strengthen the North-East Asia Peace and Security Working Group;
• The CCA initiate a consultation involving women, youth and grassroots organizations to explore the issues of peace and justice in North-East Asia;
• The churches in North-East Asia implement a comprehensive program of peace education including the training of ministers, lay leaders, youth and children;
• Materials for peace education and training should be shared among the churches in North-East Asia;
• The churches in North-East Asia intensify regional exchange programs;
• The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) invite the churches in South Korea as well as churches and Christian agencies around the world to join in a Consortium for the social development of North Korea;
• The NCCK write a petition to President George W. Bush not to engage in pre-emptive attacks on North Korea and Iran, to lift the sanctions against North Korea and to initiate a peace agreement to replace the armistice of 1953, and invite churches world-wide to sign this petition;
• Churches world-wide initiate visits to North Korea;
• Churches world-wide join the Japanese churches in their campaign against the revision of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution.

We encourage:
• Christian congregations world-wide to pray fervently for peace in North-East Asia, for the reunification of the Korean peninsula and for the Church in North Korea;
• The churches in Korea, Japan and the USA to organize exposure trips for US citizens to visit the military bases in Pyongtaek, South Korea and Okinawa;
• The National Christian Council in Japan to organize an Asian Ecumenical Conference focusing on the issue of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution;
• The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) to continue its work in the Peace Community Movement Centre and to provide information about Christians in North Korea and prayer proposals that can be used by congregations world-wide;
• The many creative initiatives by Christians to draw attention to the cruel reality of Korean division:
• Peace boat trip on the Han River and Imjin River demilitarized zone
• Memorials of peace
• Peace park along the Han River
• Peace festivals

This Statement was adopted by participants of the Consultation on May 4, 2006 at PROK Academy House, Seoul, Korea:

Pfr. NA Hae-Jip ist Vorsitzender im Ausschuss für Wiedervereinigung

20. September 2005

Stellungnahme der PROK zur Entsendung koreansicher Militärs in den Irak
We Oppose the Dispatch of Korean Troops to the Unjust US War in Iraq

Schon zuvor hatte die Kirche durch ihre Synode im September 2003 offiziell Ihren Widerstand gegen die Endsendung von Truppen in den Irak erklärt. Darauf folgte im Dezember eine ähnliche Stellungnahme, die in einem Fürbittgottesdienst mit anschließender öffnelticher Demonstration in Seoul entstanden ist. Die Demonstration fand am 4.12.2003 in den Nähe der amerikanischen Botschaft in Seoul statt.
Die Erklärung in English und als pdf-Datei.