Seoul OKs charity group plan to hold Mass in Pyongyang

Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Friday approved a plan by South Korean civic group members to celebrate Mass in the North Korean capital.

The service to be held at Pyongyang’s Changchung Cathedral will be attended by 12 people from the Peace 3000 group, including its head and Catholic priests, the ministry in charge of handling all inter-Korean affairs said.

“The joint mass is to mark the 25th anniversary of the cathedral’s construction,” spokeswoman Park Soo-jin said.

She said permission was given for the visit because the event is non-political in nature and has been arranged on a regular basis in the past.

Peace 3000 members will leave Seoul on Saturday and reach the North via China. They plan to celebrate Mass on Sunday alongside North Korean believers before returning home on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)