SEOUL (UCAN) - The Catholic association of North Korea has promised to invite Auxiliary Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il of Seoul to visit the North, according to an official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.
Samuel Chang Jae-on, president of the (North) Korean Roman Catholics' Association (KRCA), "promised to officially invite Bishop Kang as soon as possible," Father Paul Han Jung-kwan told UCA News July 18. Father Han, executive secretary of the bishops' Committee for Reconciliation of the Korean People, along with Father Joseph Jung Kwang-ung, head of Seoul archdiocesan Committee for National Reconciliation, and two lay persons, visited North Korea July 6-15 upon the invitation of the KRCA.
South Korean Church leaders have said that Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul, apostolic administrator of Pyongyang, should make a pastoral visit to prepare for a potential visit there by Pope John Paul II. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said last June that he would welcome a papal visit.
In a letter Father Han delivered to Chang, Bishop Kang, president of the episcopal committee, expressed hope that he could "share communion with the North Korean Catholics through his pastoral visit to the North." On behalf of the South Korean laypeople, Joseph Yo Kyu-tae, president of the Lay Apostolate Council of (South) Korea, also invited Chang to visit Seoul.
Father Han said Chang expressed willingness to "consider the South Korean laypeople's invitation." The South Korean Catholic representatives, upon the request of North Korean Catholics, agreed to build a corn noodle factory in Nampo, the western gate port city in North Korea. In a private dialogue, the South Koreans reportedly asked about Catholic priests being allowed residency in North Korea, which South Korean Church leaders said should be a condition for the pope's visit. But Father Jung told UCA News July 20 that the North Koreans did not "respond" to that point.
A proposal that a Catholic Church or chapel be built outside Pyongyang with support from the South Korean Church also drew no response, he said.
North Korea has one Catholic church, in Pyongyang, but officially there is no Catholic priest to serve the 3,000 or so Catholics who live in the country. The South Korean team visited three food-rationing stations to monitor the distribution of 2,000 tons of corn donated by Seoul archdiocese last March.
After thanking South Korean Catholics, the North Korean representatives asked for an additional 2,000 tons of corn "as soon as possible," saying the food situation has worsened due to the long drought, Father Han added. "I feel keenly the necessity of sharing with each other in the spirit of the Jubilee," the priest said, "so we must help the North Korean people who are suffering from a serious food shortage."
Meanwhile, representatives of the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice (CPAJ) visited North Korea July 1-8 to monitor the distribution of 1,000 tons of fertilizer that it sent last June. The group of four priests and two sisters celebrated a Mass July 2 at Changchung Catholic Church in Pyongyang.
Sister Cecilia Lee Chin-suk told UCA News July 20, "Some 250 North Korean Catholics and foreigners attended the Mass, but we could not have a word with them except to say 'Peace be with you' during the Mass."
According to Korean Martyrs Sister Lee, it was "the first time for South Korean sisters to visit the North" through a KRCA invitation. About 300 South Korean Catholics, including 12 priests and 30 sisters, toured Mount Kumgang (diamond) in North Korea from July 11 to 14. The program was arranged by the CPAJ to promote reunification of the divided country.
Though both governments disallow unauthorized visits to each other, North Korea has allowed South Koreans to tour the famous mountain since 1998.
UCAN 21. juli 2000