Park Byeong-seok Requests Russian Orthodox Church Leader for "Simultaneous Visit to South and North Korea"

Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, who is on an official visit to Russia, is taking a commemorative photo with Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on the 22nd (local time).
[Provided by the Russian Orthodox Church]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, who is on an official visit to Russia, met with Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the spiritual leader of 97 million Orthodox believers in Russia, on the 22nd (local time) and requested a simultaneous visit to both South and North Korea.

On the same day, Park visited the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and during his meeting with Kirill, he said, "I pay my respects to the Archbishop for his efforts toward reconciliation and peace between the South and the North," adding, "If you visit both South and North Korea simultaneously once the COVID-19 situation settles, it will greatly contribute to reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Archbishop Kirill responded, "Although one nation now lives in two countries, I consider South Korea and North Korea as one country," and promised, "I will definitely visit both South and North Korea." He also expressed regret, saying, "I intended to visit South Korea last year, but could not due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Archbishop Kirill requested Speaker Park to assist in registering the Russian Orthodox Church's Korean Diocese as a religious organization in South Korea and to help establish a Russian Orthodox Church cathedral in Seoul. Park said that upon returning home, he would review the registration issue of the Russian Orthodox Church's Korean Diocese and regarding the cathedral construction, he stated, "We can positively consider establishing a Russian Cultural Center and building the cathedral on that site."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.