The Korean peninsula is one of the last remaining divided countrieson earth. We have the responsibility to unify the peninsula.
We cannot pass a divided homeland on to our descendants. It
is impermissible that a single people should be divided and for peaceloving
people to be unable to see their parents or siblings. The line that
divides North and South Korea was drawn by human beings. Land can
be divided that way, but not people. That we do not forget each other
and continue to yearn for each other even after more than fifty years of
separation shows that we are one people.
The Korean people were traditionally known as “people of white
clothing,” because of the color of our clothes. White is the symbol of
peace. Our people are people of peace. During the time of the Japanese
occupation, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese lived in Manchuria and
Siberia, sometimes helping each other and at other times killing each
other. During that time, Koreans never carried swords or knives as did
the Japanese and Chinese. Instead, we carried flint rocks. Lighting fires
in the frozen land of Manchuria and Siberia was a way of protecting
life. This is the kind of people we are. We respect Heaven, uphold moral
principles, and love peace. Our people shed much blood during the
time of the Japanese occupation and the Korean War. This, however,
did not bring about the unification of our country or the establishment
of a sovereignty of peace. Our country was broken at the waist into two
pieces, and half became a dark world of communism.
We need unification to restore the sovereignty of our people. We
must end the division between North and South so we can have peace.
Only after we first accomplish peaceful unification and restore our
sovereignty can we bring peace to the world. The Korean people were
created to bring peace to the world. Everything has a name, and names
have meaning. The clothes of the “people of white clothing” are easy to
see, both by day and night. White is good to use for signs during the
night because it is easy to see in the dark. Our people are destined to
convey messages of peace around the world, both day and night.
North and South are divided by a cease-fire line, but this is not the problem.
Once we remove that line, we will find an even larger barrier between
us and Russia and China. For our people to enjoy true peace, we will need
to overcome those cease-fire lines as well. It will be difficult, but it is not
impossible. The important thing is our own attitude.
I believe that when a person sweats, he should sweat every last drop
that he has in him. He should sweat even the last little bit that is in his
heart. That way, he will have no regrets, and everything will become
clean and set in order. The same is true when we attempt anything difficult.
The difficulty will end only when you have gained victory at every
stage, and everything has been made clear. Whatever you are dealing
with needs to be completely put in order. Then it can bear fruit. We cannot
restore our people’s full sovereignty without going through such
tearful difficulties.
Today, many people talk about peaceful unification. I, however,
spoke about this at a time when people did not dare even use the phrase
“peaceful unification,” for fear of being charged with violating the Anti-
Communist Law and the National Security Law. Today, when people
ask me what must be done to bring about unification, I tell them what
I have always said on this matter: “If South Koreans love North Korea
more than they love the South, and North Koreans love South Korea
more than they love the North, we could unify the peninsula today.”
I was able to risk my life to go to North Korea in 1991 and meet
President Kim because I had a foundation of such love within me. I
made agreements then with him regarding meetings of separated families,
North-South economic cooperation, development of Mount Kumgang,
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and working toward a
North-South summit conference. No one thought an anti-communist
could go to a communist country and open the floodgate of unification,
but I surprised the world.
Before my meeting with President Kim, I delivered a two-hour address
titled “Blood Is Thicker Than Water,” at the Mansudae Assembly
Hall, seat of the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s legislature.
I spoke that day to the leadership of North Korea about a way to unify
North and South through love. I stood before the leadership of North
Korea, who were armed with Kim Il Sung’s philosophy, and told them
exactly what I believed.
“North and South must be unified,” I said, “but guns and swords
will not make us one. North-South unification will not happen with
military force. Even the Korean War failed in this respect, and it is foolish
for anyone to think they can make another attempt through military
force. Neither will unification happen with the juche ideology that you
espouse. What will do it, then? The world does not operate only by the
power of human beings. Because God exists, nothing can be done by
human effort alone. Even in situations of evil, such as war, God carries
out His providence. That is why North and South cannot be unified
through the juche ideology that puts man at the center.
“Bringing about a unified homeland can be done only with
Godism,” I continued. “God is protecting us, and our time of unification
is coming. Unification is the destiny; it is the task that must be
accomplished in our era. If we cannot accomplish the sacred task of
unifying the homeland in our time, we will not be able to hold our
heads high in the presence of our ancestors or descendants for the rest
of eternity.
“What is Godism? It is the practice of God’s perfect love. Neither the
right wing nor the left wing can unify North and South. It will be possible
only when there is a ‘headwing thought’ that is able to harmonize
these two.
“To travel the path of love, you must apologize before the world
for your invasion of the South. I understand that North Korea has
planted twenty thousand resident espionage agents in the South.
Send an order immediately to all of them, instructing them to turn
themselves in to the South Korean authorities. If you do that, I will
give them an education that will rectify their ideology and turn
them into patriots who will contribute to the peaceful unification of
North and South.”
I pounded on the table in front of me as I spoke. The expressions
of Mr. Yun Ki Bok and Vice Premier Kim Dal Hyun grew tense with
fear. I was aware of what dangers I might be exposed to for making such
statements, but I needed to say what I had come to say. I was not simply
trying to shock the audience. I knew that my speech would be reported
immediately, word for word, to President Kim and his son, Chairman
Kim Jong Il. So I wanted to state my purpose clearly.
When I finished, some of the North Koreans present even protested,
demanding to know how I could dare to speak in such a manner. I
looked at my entourage and saw that their faces were white with fear.
Our members who were with me told me: “The speech had a very
strong tone, and the atmosphere of the audience was not good.” I was
adamant, however.
“Why did I come here?” I asked them. “I didn’t come to see the land
of North Korea. If I were to leave here without saying what needed to be
said, Heaven would punish me. Even if today’s speech is used by them
as an excuse to deny me a meeting with President Kim and to expel us
from the country, I still needed to say what I came to say.”
On July 8, 1994, President Kim suddenly died. His death came when
North-South relations were at an all-time low. Patriot missiles had been
deployed on South Korean soil, and war hawks in the United States
advocated the destruction of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. It appeared
that war might break out at any time. North Korea announced it would
not receive any mourners from outside the country, but I felt it was
important we send someone. I wanted to fulfill my obligation, as I had
formed a brotherly relationship with President Kim.
I called Bo Hi Pak. “Go immediately to North Korea as my representative
to mourn President Kim’s death.” I said.
“No one can get into North Korea now,” he said.
“I know it’s difficult, but somehow you have to go. I don’t care if
you have to swim across the Yalu River. Get in there and convey my
condolences.”
Bo Hi Pak first traveled to Beijing and risked his life to communicate
with North Korea. Then, Chairman Kim Jong Il gave the instruction,
“An exception will be made for a mourning representative from President
Moon. Escort him to Pyongyang.”
After condolences had been expressed, Chairman Kim Jong Il met
with Bo Hi Pak and politely greeted him, saying, “My father always
said that President Moon was working hard for the unification of our
homeland. I am glad you came.”
In 1994, the Korean peninsula was in such a crisis that it could have
exploded at any time. In that moment, we were able to resolve the
nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula because of the relationship I had
formed with President Kim Il Sung. Sending a representative to express
my condolences was not a simple matter of mourning.
I described my meeting with President Kim in considerable detail to
illustrate my point about the importance of faith and loyalty between
two people. I met him for the sake of the peaceful unification of our
homeland. I was able to convey my concerns for the destiny of our
people with faith and loyalty. As a result, after his death, his son, Chairman
Kim Jong Il, accepted our mourning representative. There is no
wall that cannot be scaled and no dream that cannot be realized when
we share our love with a sincere heart.
When I went to North Korea, I thought of it as my homeland and
the home of my brother. I didn’t go there with a desire to get something
from them. I went with the purpose to share with them my heart of
love. The power of love touched not only President Kim Il Sung but
also his son, Chairman Kim Jong Il. Since then, and continuing to this
day, we have maintained a special relationship with North Korea. Each
time North-South relations become difficult, we have played a role in
opening the gateway. It is all based on the fact that I met with President
Kim Il Sung, conveyed to him my sincere heart, and built a relationship
of trust with him. That is the importance of trust.
Following my meeting with President Kim, we now operate the
Pyonghwa Motors plant, the Potonggang Hotel, and the World Peace
Center in North Korea. There are eight billboards for Pyonghwa Motors
around Pyongyang. When the South Korean president visited North
Korea, North Korean officials took him to the Pyonghwa Motors plant.
South Korean business leaders who accompanied the president stayed at
the Potonggang Hotel. Non-North Korean members of our church who
work in North Korea gather at the World Peace Center each Sunday for
worship service. All of these projects are efforts for the sake of peaceful
exchanges and unification of North and South. They are not being
done to make a profit. They are efforts to contribute to the unification of
North and South as an expression of love for the Korean people.
=============================
Petition to governments of all countries to officially
accept Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon chosen
by God and called by Jesus Christ to fulfill the mission of the Messiah, Savior and Lord of the Second
Advent with the responsibility to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth by
2013, January 13 Heavenly Calendar.
Together with his loving wife, Mrs. Hak Ja Moon, they are the True
Parents of Heaven, Earth and all humanity who embody the true love of God.
Please sign, just
write your name and country below and
pass Petition to all you friends.
Read More As a
Peace-Loving Global Citizen Sun Myung Moon autobiography at: http://www.trueloveking.net/Sun_Myung_Moon_Biography.html
