_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Korea ________________

Relief group gains breakthrough agreement
North and South working together
A Catholic relief agency based in South Korea has been given government approval for continued work in North Korea, the Fides news agency has reported.

Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Korea will continue to supply humanitarian aid to North Korea, as the result of an agreement reached at a recent meeting in Beijing. That meeting marked the first meeting ever arranged between representatives of Caritas Korea—based in South Korea—and officials of the North Korean government. In the past the Pyongyang regime has always refused contact with humanitarian agencies from South Korea, while accepting aid from the United Nations and other international bodies such as Caritas Internationalis.

Duncan MacLaren, chairman of Caritas Internationalis, said the meeting was an endorsement of the group’s policy to assist the needy regardless of politics, religion, or ethnicity. “Many lives have been saved and improved and we are committed to doing even more in the future,” he said.

MacLaren also professed his belief that the relief agency’s work with the North Korean government has “contributed to greater understanding of civil society” in that isolated Communist country. He added: “We have helped to open the doors to enable them to come in from the cold and re-join the international community.”

Back to Catholic World Report January 2002 Table of Contents