DPRK Mourns Death of “Dear Leader”

2011 Common Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of South and North Korea

[Since the late 1980s when North and South Korean Christians first met, the (North) Korean Christian Federation (KCF) and the (South) Korean National Council of Churches (NCCK) have agreed to an annual joint day of prayer on or near the 15 August liberation day that is celebrated by both parts of Korea. Here is how NCCK General Secretary the Rev. Kim Young Ju explains it: “On August 15, our nation of Korea will celebrate its Independence Day. That day commemorates our liberation from outside occupation, and the renewal of an independent country from ‘Baekdu Mountain (on the northern border with China) to Halla Mountain (on Jeju Island in the south)’. In the years after that Liberation, tragic events led to the present partition of Korea, and the division of our one people. We pray for the day when peaceful restoration will come and our nation will again be one. The NCCK invites all partners to share in our common prayer on Sunday, August 14.” The text of the common prayer follows here. –CanKor.]

Koreas may partner on volcano research

Mount Paektu

Agence France-Presse and the Wall Street Journal both carried the news that North Korean authorities have proposed joint North-South research into Mt. Paektu. The spectacular volcano, which straddles the border between the DPRK and China,  has been quiet since its last eruption in 1903, but experts say its core may still be active.

The North’s earthquake bureau suggest the two countries jointly research the mountain given last week’s devastating quake and tsunami in Japan.