South and North Korean Buddhist groups have agreed to launch a joint project to excavate and restore Buddhist relics in the area of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, the South Korean group said Tuesday.
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the biggest Buddhist sect in the South, struck the agreement in a meeting from Oct. 16-17 in Shenyang, China, with the (North) Korean Buddhist Federation, the umbrella group for North Korean sects, according to the South Korean group.
Both groups agreed to launch the relic project sometime after the restrained inter-Korean relations ease up and to jointly build a Buddhist meeting hall in Pyongyang, the Jogye Order said. The hall would be equipped with medical capacities and other welfare facilities, it said.
They also discussed ways to unify their religious rituals and raise exchanges between South and North Korean temples as part of efforts to enhance cooperation.
Despite the ongoing chill in the inter-Korean ties, the Buddhist groups from both countries have maintained their steady exchanges, including the South Korean sect's visit to Kaesong earlier this month, according to the group.
"Details of the (joint) project have not been determined, but the meeting was meaningful in that it preemptively discussed future projects between the South and North (Korean) groups," an official of the Jogye Order said. (Yonhap)