| Mission team opens dialogue with North Koreans By Linda Bloom, United Methodist News Service  Christians in North Korea are eager to strengthen ties with their U.S. counterparts, said Mary Baldridge, of Millersville, who serves as a director of the General Board of Global Ministries and traveled to the communist nation this summer as one of a seven-member delegation from the mission board, led by Bishop Joel Martinez of San Antonio. The group paid a July 22-30 visit to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.
The delegations visit was co-hosted by the Korean Christian Federation, representing about 12,000 North Korean Christians, and a government agency whose name roughly translates as Aiding Committee for Overseas Koreans. The Rev. Youngsook Kang, a Board of Global Ministries executive, said United Methodists want to expand relations with North Korean Christians, affirming the federations role as a primary mission partner. The church also wants to investigate continuing needs for humanitarian assistance and consider how to promote relations with the United States, she said. A letter of agreement signed between the mission agency and the Korean federation confirms the partnership and advocates for a peaceful reunification of North and South Korea, as well as a better relationship between the U.S. government and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. For the North Koreans, improving country-to-country relations was a constant refrain. They were urgently requesting our support for advocating a closer relationship between our two nations, Martinez explained. We promised to register that, both with our church and the State Department, in some follow-up conversations. The Rev. Paul Dirdak, chief executive of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, explained that the North Koreans believe the U.S. policy toward their country is an impediment to progress. He added that everyone the delegation talked with brought up President Bushs categorization of North Korea as being part of an axis of evil. Church people in particular were personally offended by those remarks, he noted. What is clear to us is they are looking for friends, Kang said. She and other board staff believe the historic moment for possible reunification is more apparent than ever. For Kang, however, the need for reunification hit home when the delegation visited the demilitarized zone dividing the two nations and she saw a narrow road that, if open, would lead directly to Seoul and her relatives, only two hours away. Thats when I felt the tragedy of the division of Korea so personally, she recalled. Its just tragic that one country, with one people and one language, is divided. Only three church buildings remain in use in Pyongyang, North Koreas capital, but on the positive side, they do have a growing number of house churches where people can gather for worship and sharing of Scripture and sharing of their faith, the bishop said. The Korean Christian Federation also serves as a voice to the government regarding issues of the Christian church and its efforts. He expressed disappointment that children currently do not receive religious training, but wanted to celebrate the beginnings of Christian growth in families and in the homes. Kang explained that the Christian population in North Korea is aging because many joined the faith before the division of Korea in 1948. Although there is a seminary where new ministers can be ordained by a respected pastor, the church is unable to evangelize in the general population. Dirdak said he did not see signs of malnourishment in children that he witnessed during an earlier trip, leading him to believe that North Koreas widespread food shortages have eased. A shipment of 70 medicine boxes for the Korean Christian Federation preceded the delegation. UMCOR has assisted in famine relief in North Korea over the years and still plans to enlist church members in a modest but steady contribution to hunger needs there, Dirdak said. | 
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