South Korean monk to visit North Korea in first civilian exchange

By Kim Bo-eun

The unification ministry said Thursday it approved a visit by a South Korean monk to North Korea, to discuss restoring a temple there. It will be the first civilian exchange to take place since the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration in May last year.

Monk Cheondam of the Seoul-based World Peace Foundation will visit Pyongyang from June 2 to June 6, a unification ministry official told reporters. He will make the visit alone.

The visit was arranged after the North's invitation and the monk's subsequent application to make the visit, the official said.

Monk Cheondam will meet Buddhist figures in the North, and discuss restoring a temple at Mount Geumgang, which was damaged during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

“The visit is for the purpose of a religious exchange, and the ministry approved it as a means to boost other exchanges,” the official said.

Private exchanges are expected to increase after Monk Cheondam's visit.

The visit comes at a time inter-Korean relations are making progress. The leaders of the North and South agreed at the inter-Korean summit on April 27 to “boost cooperation and exchanges in diverse sectors at various levels to develop the mood of inter-Korean reconciliation.”