World Council of Churches -
News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release:
25 May 2009
North Korea nuclear test highlights need to abolish all nuclear weapons
At a time when the international community is re-kindling the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, the North Korean nuclear test is a source of profound concern, stated the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.
"The World Council of Churches is deeply troubled by North Korea's nuclear test and profoundly concerned for the people of North Korea and surrounding countries", Kobia said in a public comment on 25 May.
"There is no place for nuclear arsenals in international affairs – whether by a country like North Korea or by the eight other self-appointed nuclear powers that would have others believe their security requires weapons of mass destruction", he added.
Praising the "remarkably positive meeting" on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty held at the United Nations ten days ago, Kobia stressed: "It is unfortunate that North Korea was not there; neither were Pakistan, India or Israel."
The governing bodies of the WCC have repeatedly called on all states to join in negotiations and efforts towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. WCC member churches in every region of the world have consistently condemned nuclear weapons as a sin against God and humankind.
Full text of the WCC general secretary comment:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6834
WCC work on nuclear arms control:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3255
Additional information:
Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
