Agreement was reached at the close of a three-day meeting in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong where the Christian leaders expressed unrelenting hope for peace and reconciliation among Koreans, despite the stark realities of the ongoing division of the Korean peninsula.
The call for a confederation came in a communiqué developed by the group at the end of their international consultation on Korean reunification. The "Tsuen Wan Communiqué" says the confederation option would involve progressive steps such as peaceful co-existence and the furthering of economic cooperation between the two Koreas.
The proposal for an inter-Korean confederation was presented to the group jointly by church leaders from North and South Korea on the final day of deliberations.
The "confederation system would respect both governments", said the Rev Kang Yong Sop, chairman of the Korea Christian Federation of North Korea, in a presentation to the group on Friday morning.
"North and South Korea must first recognise each other's systems and engage in cooperation in any field possible, and institutionalise the results," said Suh Bo Hyug, a member of the National Council of Churches in Korea's reconciliation and reunification committee: "Only then will they move closer to reunification."
The communiqué was the outcome of a consultation on peace, reconciliation and reunification of the Korean peninsula held 21 to 23 October 2009, sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA).
The purpose of the consultation was to explore the next steps for churches' involvement in the reunification effort. Church leaders from 30 different countries, including four church leaders from North Korea and a delegation of 50 South Koreans, attended the consultation.
