S. Korean Catholic priests to visit N. Korea annually

Park So-jung SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Catholic bishops said Monday that they will send delegations of priests to North Korea on a regular basis to jointly celebrate major feasts. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK) made the announcement after returning from a four-day trip to the communist country. The visit was made from last Tuesday to Friday at the invitation of the North Korean Catholic association. The CBCK said that the delegation will hold services at Changchung Cathedral in Pyongyang, the sole Catholic church in North Korea, on major Catholic feasts every year, possibly starting with the Easter Mass in April. "The North Korean side said that as long as there are no changes in relations at the government level, our priests are welcome anytime," Kim Hui-jung, the South Korean archbishop who led the delegation, said at a press conference in Seoul. "We asked if we can visit for four or five of the biggest Catholic holidays, and the North Korean side said it would cooperate in any way it can." Future South Korean delegations are likely to be comprised of one or two priests and one or two of their attendants, but the details are to be fixed by the Archdiocese of Seoul, Kim said. He rebuffed suggestions that the CBCK will be training North Korean priests in the future. "That's not something we can discuss at present. If conditions improve through our regular visits, we may be able to discuss such issues then," he said. Though it wasn't clear how many North Koreans were baptized, there appeared to be "a possibility that some North Koreans had been able to maintain faith in ways we don't yet understand," Kim said. He also said the North Korean side was receptive to the idea of inviting the Pope to a joint Mass in the future. This was the first time a delegation solely comprised of South Korean bishops crossed into North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War. The delegation was greeted by Kim Chol-ung, president of Changchung Cathedral, and dozens of local Catholics when it visited the cathedral on the third day of the trip. At the end of the meeting, Kim said both sides agreed to facilitate humanitarian and priesthood exchanges in the future. "The meeting laid the foundation for further cooperation and exchange among Korean Catholics," the CBCK said in a statement. The latest trip was aimed at helping promote reconciliation between South and North Korea, as this year marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice, the North's regime deals harshly with those involved in "almost any religious practices," meaning that religious freedom does not exist, the U.S. State Department said last month. sojungpark@yna.co.kr (END)