North Korea rejects South's offer of joint Easter prayer: sources

A North Korean Christian organization has rejected its South Korean counterpart's proposal for a joint prayer. (Reuters-Yonhap)

A North Korean Christian organization has turned down a proposal by its South Korean counterpart for a joint prayer on the occasion of Easter early next month, sources said Friday, amid no progress in Seoul's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.

The South's National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) sent a draft of a joint prayer ahead of Easter that falls on April 4.

But the North's Korean Christian Federation (KCF) stated that "a joint prayer between the two Koreas would be meaningless at this point," according to the sources.

It expressed the position in a letter to Peter Prove, director of international affairs at the World Council of Churches. The religious organization asked for Prove's continued support for Pyongyang.

The two Christian organizations had often released a joint prayer ahead of Easter and Liberation Day, but the North side was unresponsive last year.

An NCCK official voiced regret over the situation in a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency.

"We understand that (North Korea) has indirectly rejected (the joint prayer)," the official said.

It is the first time that the KCF has clearly rejected the offer of a joint prayer via such a statement, the official added.

Pyongyang has accused the Moon Jae-in administration of hesitating to implement bilateral summit deals on promoting inter-Korean cooperation and exchanges. (Yonhap)