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The Unification Ministry of the government of South Korea, and the North Korean government have been open to a number of meetings of people of the North and South this month during the last couple of months. A number of events have taken place, and this openness shows great promise for the future security of Korea.
The Korea Council of Religions for Peace were able to organize a gathering when representatives of the 7 major religious groups in the South held a meeting with their counterparts from the North at the North-South Korean Interreligious Meeting held at Geumgang Mountain on Nov. 9 and 10. 150 delegates made the trip to the Geumgangsan Resort, 15 representatives of NCCK representing Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as 15 representatives each of Catholics, Buddhists, Won Buddhists, Cheondoism, Confucianism and Korean Traditional Religions.
After going through the border CIQ (Customs, Immigration, Quarantine), the participants arrived at the Resort, were checked in, and met their counterparts. The program at the Resort of the North-South Korean Interreligious Meeting got under way with opening greetings and addresses by the leaders of each delegation of the North and the South Korean representatives. This culminated with a welcoming dinner organised by the North. The second day was given to reunion meetings of each of the religious groups.
The last such meeting was held in 2011, and since then the border has been closed to such relationship building. This was a very glad time and positive connections were made that will bear fruit in increased knowledge and understanding of each other within the faith communities.
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