In this sermon, given on July 23, 2023, at Cheonwon Church, Rev. Pak Sang-seon looks at the world’s political situation with regard to the issue of the Korean Peninsula. This is in keeping with Mother’s hope that our movement can make a significant contribution to resolving the division of the Korean Peninsula, and the establishment of a Citizens’ Committee for Preparation for Unification.”
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the leaders and citizens of Gapyeong who have come to join us in this joint worship service for inter-Korean reunification despite your busy schedules. And I sincerely congratulate all those who have been commissioned for the National Committee for Unification Preparation. I believe that all those who have come together as one in the spirit of preparing for unification are the greatest force that will open the door to unification. And I am convinced that when the hearts of the people unite, Heaven will be with us and the door to peaceful unification will open. The fact is, it is not easy to talk about the reunification of North and South Korea.
In Korea, there is a president and a prime minister, and there are 18 administrative organizations with 4 departments and 18 offices. Among them, the Ministry of Unification is in charge of unification issues. I would like to introduce what President Seok-yeol Yoon said in his closing remarks at the Ministry of Unification Business Report on January 27, 2023.
President Yoon emphasized the importance of preparing for unification, saying, “Unification can come by preparing, not just happening. … Unification will come suddenly, but it can only be realized if we have prepared. No matter how well you prepare, it cannot be enough.” He emphasized preparation for unification. Anyone can see that it is only natural that the entire nation should prepare for unification with one mind.
Among our people, many have diverse thoughts regarding the reunification of North and South. It is very difficult for the leaders of the two Koreas to have a dialogue, and it is not known how much it will cost until reunification is achieved. The reality is that many people insist that we can go on living as we are without reunification. It is not wrong to think that it would be nice to live as it is without reunification of the two Koreas, but the problem is North Korea.
This year 2023 marks the 73rd year since the outbreak of the Korean (6.25) War and the 70th year since the armistice. The war is not completely over. How many North Korean provocations have there been in the past 70 years since the armistice? How many provocations have there been, such as breaking through the armistice line, invasion attempts and hostile confrontations by sea, armed guerrillas, and spies? Now North Korea has become a country wielding nuclear weapons.
In order to become a nuclear weapons state, three capabilities must be demonstrated, and North Korea has demonstrated all three capabilities. The first is the success of the nuclear test. Second, there must be a missile capable of sending off a nuclear bomb. Third, it must be able to detonate a nuclear bomb 500 meters above the ground. North Korea has all three capabilities and thus has become a de facto nuclear power.
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests. The sixth nuclear test was conducted in September 2017. Moreover, it claims that the fifth nuclear test was a hydrogen bomb test. Now, after the 6th nuclear test, they have not conducted any further nuclear tests, but they continue to launch missiles with the potential to have payloads.
In 2023 alone this year, right up until yesterday, July 22, they have made 20 provocative missile launches. Last year in 2022, there were 30 missile provocations. The ‘Arrow-1’ and ‘Arrow-2’ models launched on March 22, 2023 were set to explode at a set altitude of 600 meters, and it was announced that the test of the nuclear explosion control system and detonating triggers were successful.
A nuclear bomb does not explode when it hits the ground, but detonates about 500 meters above the ground, causing the heat, nuclear blast, and radiation causing even more extensive damage than if it detonated on the surface. North Korea announced on March 22 that it had conducted a successful nuclear missile test.
Now, their experiments aimed at proving that they could, if they wished to, construct a nuclear bomb, load it onto a missile, and detonate it in the air, have been successful. In addition, they have succeeded with a missile launch test that proved their capability to send one all the way to the US mainland was also successful. Missile test launches were also conducted from trains, trucks, and submarines. The flight range of missiles has also increased, and now Hwasong-13, Hwasong-14, Hwasong-15 and Taepodong-2 have a range exceeding 10,000 km, so they have the ability to strike the continental USA.
South Korea does not have its own nuclear weapons, but the United States, our ally, sends nuclear-capable aircraft carriers, submarines, and bombers to the Korean Peninsula to warn North Korea against reckless provocation. On July 18, the Ohio-class USS Kentucky, an American strategic nuclear submarine, made a port call at the Naval Operations Base in Busan. She is a submarine capable of carrying over 20 nuclear weapons. July 18 was the day when the first meeting of the Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) was held, and this strategic nuclear submarine arrived just in time for that day.
North Korean Defense Minister Kim Soon-nam announced to the Korean Central News Agency on July 20, threatening, “The increased visibility of the deployment of strategic assets, including strategic nuclear submarines, may fall under the conditions justifying the use of nuclear weapons as specified in the State Nuclear Forces Policy Act.”
On July 17, the day before the first meeting of the Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group, North Korean Workers’ Party Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong also made a threatening and harsh remark. She said, “The current situation is far beyond the level of confrontation that was created in 2017, and the possibility of an actual armed conflict including the possibility of a nuclear war are being discussed.”
It has been 70 years since the Korean War reached a ceasefire, but now, with North Korea’s nuclear weapons and US nuclear weapons in confrontation around the Korean Peninsula, even the word “nuclear war” is being bandied about. Can you think that it would be nice if South Korea and North Korea, confront each other in such a standoff, do not have to reunify? Can I live under such a nuclear umbrella in such a state of laissez faire? You never know when a war may break out between the North and the South at a moment’s notice, yet can you survive just by saying let’s continue to coexist in this manner? Then the question is how we can open the door to unification? And what should we do to prepare for unification?
The military law written in China 2500 years ago, “The Art of War”, is a book that many people still consult for wisdom needed not only in war but also in life. According to Sun Tzu’s Law of War, there are many strategies to win a war, and among them, there are the best strategies and some that can be called the low-level strategies. In the old days, when there was a war between nations, taking castles was the most important thing. However, leading an army to directly take the castle is said to be the lowest level strategy among war strategies. Even if it is the lowest level strategy, we can say that it is adequate to win the battle and take the castle. In the process of winning the war, many soldiers and civilians are sacrificed, and if the damage is too great because the castle is destroyed, it is necessary to recover from the damage of the war even after winning the war. That requires a lot of time and resources.
Just recently Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year and has been at war for over a year and five months so far. Aren’t the sacrifices of soldiers, civilians, and damage to buildings, roads, and land in both Russia and Ukraine huge? Winning at such enormous sacrifices is the lowest level of strategy. Russia will have to pay huge post-war reparations once the war is over. Russia did not start the war without being aware of such eventualities. Yet Russia thought it would win very easily and went ahead with the invasion. Nine years ago, we witnessed how Russia took over the Crimean Peninsula, which was Ukrainian territory, without firing a single shot. Even when they attacked Ukraine in February of last year, they thought it would be easy to occupy Ukraine, and if Ukraine became their territory, they would not have to pay post-war reparations. But thinking so was a crucial mistake. In the Law of War of Sun Tzu, it is said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will have no difficulty in a hundred battles.” So, they’ve been fighting for a year and a half so far, but it feels like Russia is getting pushed into the corner more and more.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war for a year and a half. There is no way to comfort the pain that the soldiers and civilians of either country are experiencing, but it is giving a very important realization to the people of our own country of Korea, as we are in a precarious situation where we do not know when a war will break out as the two Koreas are facing each other in a tense confrontation here on the Korean Peninsula.
In 2014, Ukraine had the disheartening experience of just watching Russia take away its territory, Crimea. But now they are showing their fighting spirit very well: The same nation and people of the Ukraine are defending their territory by fighting Russia now, nine years after Crimea was taken away by Russia. It shows in front of our eyes how a country’s territory could be taken away and how it is now defending itself. By seeing how this happened in another country, we have a lot of very important lessons to learn.
Seventy-three years have passed since the outbreak of the Korean War, and many veterans have passed away, and memories of the Korean War are fading. How many soldiers and civilians were sacrificed? Also, how many families were separated and are still experiencing the pain of being separated between South and North, unable to meet even though they long to reunite? And how many military clashes have there been between the two Koreas in the 70 years since the armistice? But now, the tension between North and South is gradually fading, more and more people want to go on living like this, and even more and more people do not know who caused the war nor what kind of relationship obtains with North Korea. How many of those original separated families are still alive?
By the way, the war between Russia and Ukraine continues. News of the war is being reported every day, so anyone with a smartphone can listen to the news of the war in Ukraine anytime, anywhere. Especially for Koreans who experienced the Korean War, the war in Ukraine vividly reminds us of our memories of the Korean War. And it makes me think again that if we don’t prepare for war, we can get in trouble.
Looking back at the process by which Ukraine lost Crimea to Russia 9 years ago in 2014 and Russia attacked Ukraine in February of last year, unlike 9 years ago, Ukraine has been defending its country well so far. Let us look at what the lesson is: The process of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 literally took less than a month without firing a single shot, like lightning. Let’s take a look at that process.
February 27, 2014 at 4 am, an unknown armed force with no rank or affiliation mark occupied the government building and the National Assembly building in the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea calling for the independence of the Crimean Peninsula. It was later revealed that they were Russian soldiers.
Two days later, on March 2nd, Russia approved military intervention in Ukraine and dispatched troops to protect its citizens in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and Ukraine immediately surrendered.
On March 11, a referendum was held to declare independence from Ukraine and establish the Republic of Crimea.
On March 16, a referendum was held again to promote merger with Russia. On March 18, President Putin of Russia, Prime Minister Sergei of the Republic of Crimea, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Crimea Konstantinov, and Mayor Alexei Charlie of Sevastopol signed the Treaty on the Annexation of the Republic of Crimea with Russia. The treaty was found to be constitutional.
On March 21, President Putin finally signed the merger treaty between Russia and the Republic of Crimea, legally completing all legal procedures for the annexation of the Republic of Crimea. The world, including the United States, still claims Crimea as Ukrainian territory, while only eight countries, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Russia, recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
If you look closely at this process, Russia would have been embarrassed to invade Crimea without any justification. So, there was a need for a justification for military intervention in Crimea, even nominally, and that was the justification for protecting its own people, the Russians, in Crimea.
If a person or group who wants to separate the country appears and causes confusion by calling for independence or separation of this place where they all live, that country will not stand still. It will prevent that person or group from being active. Then, in the name of protecting that person or organization, another country’s army can come in. Therefore, in order to defend one’s country, it is very important not to give a reason for another country’s army to enter. In the first place, there should not be separatists who say that we want to be independent, so let’s divide our country. That is why it is very important for the people to stand together as one.
There are more important reasons to defend the country. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “It is not best to fight a hundred times and win a hundred times. It is best to win without fighting.” That’s right. If you can win without fighting, that’s for the best. In other words, losing without fighting is the worst-case scenario.
To lose without fighting is another word for ‘self-destruction’. ‘Self-destruction’ would be more understandable if we compare it to a disease. Those who live a long life and die at the end of their old age are blessed people. In the case of death without being able to enjoy the natural life, there are many cases where one’s life is lost due to an unavoidable situation such as an accident or natural disaster. And there are many cases where people lose their health and die. For a nation to ‘self-destruct’ is, so to speak, to the death of a person from loss of health. A healthy person is someone who has the power to fight and overcome germs that come from outside. Or, even if cancer cells form in the body, white blood cells have the ability to get rid of those cells. On the contrary, if your health is weak, you cannot fight the virus or germs coming from outside, and the virus or germs get stronger, and eventually, the strength of the germs grows and your body collapses. A healthy person is one who has the power to distinguish and eliminate germs or viruses that are harmful to health. If cancer cells form in the body, a healthy person is one who has the power to find and destroy the cancer cells.
The same goes for countries. A country can be said to be a healthy and robust when it has the ability to find out when a person or group that threatens the national security enters from outside and to block such a person or group from entering. Likewise, even if an individual or group that threatens the safety of the nation, or such people rise up within the nation, a powerful or healthy nation should be able to immediately detect and block the activities of such individuals or groups. * You can understand what an unhealthy country is by watching the news these days.
In Central America, there is a country called Haiti, bordering the Dominican Republic and across from Cuba.
The nation has not been able to stop the activities of armed gangs that threaten the safety of the people, and eventually 90 armed gangs control 40 percent of the country. After the president was murdered in July 2021, this country has become a lawless place where gangs predominate. After the president was murdered in 2021, Prime Minister Ariel Henry took power, but the police are not functioning because the armed forces of the police are weaker than the armed forces of gangs. Prime Minister Lee went to an event and was humiliated by being kicked out by a gang leader claiming to be the prime minister. Haiti is a great example of what happens when a nation is not healthy enough to function properly. A country that does not have the ability to detect and remove factors that threaten the safety of its people in advance is like a person who has lost health, and will self-destruct. * Now here’s another example that illustrates very well what happens when a country is unhealthy: Let’s take a look at San Francisco and Philadelphia in the USA.
Newspapers said ‘from “Romantic City” to “Zombie City”’. The picture on the left shows San Francisco’s famous tram going up the hill in the city, and the picture on the right shows a drug addict inside the San Francisco Civic Center Station.
This photo is of Kensington Street in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in the United States. Kensington Street, northeast of the city, is America’s No. 1 drug street. This street is out of control because there are too many people doing drugs. The police are patrolling, but they can’t do anything about it; the addicts even do drugs in front of the cops. The police catch people who distribute or take drugs, but there are too many of them and they can’t do anything about it. As a result of this, the vicious cycle of factories closing down, the economy getting worse, and citizens getting more easily seduced by drugs continues. A country that fails to keep its people safe is like a person who has lost their health, unable to find and eliminate germs or viruses. Situations like Haiti in Central America, San Francisco Zombie Street, and Philadelphia’s Kensington Drug Street illustrate very well images of unhealthy and self-destructing nations and cities. It would not be a normal country to simply carry on while looking at such a country or city.
Think about what a healthy nation looks like. A healthy nation must be able to protect the property and life of its citizens. In today’s world, all crimes have become more intelligent, making it increasingly difficult to protect people’s property and life from crime. The country needs to be healthier. Even the most intelligent crime must be detected and stopped. * Our country should be able to protect the property and life of the people from all crimes, and furthermore, it should be able to protect the country from the military threat of North Korea. If self-destruction before going to war is the worst, what would be the best military strategy in Sun Tzu’s Military Law?
In Sun Tzu’s Martial Arts, I wrote this about the best military skills. He said that the best military strategy is to figure out the enemy’s intentions in advance and block them through diplomatic negotiations. After that, the second is to cut off the enemy’s alliances and isolate it, and the third is to strike the enemy with force. And, as the last, lowest-level method, attack the enemy’s castle. Diplomatically, it was said that cooperation and alliances with other countries should be established so that the enemy does not come to fight, and that if the enemy’s alliance is cut off and isolated, he can win without fighting. He explains that hitting with force is next, and the lowest level is to attack the enemy’s castle. The Korean War was a good example of this strategy. North Korea was allied with the Soviet Union. What was South Korea like at that time?
On January 12, 1950, namely five months before the outbreak of the 6.25 War, U.S. Secretary of State Acheson announced the U.S. Far East Defense Line for Northeast Asia as a defense line stretching from the Philippines to Japan. The Korean Peninsula fell out of this line of defense. In the end, at the time of the North Korean invasion, South Korea had weak alliances with its neighbors, while North Korea had strong alliances with its allies. From North Korea’s point of view, it was the ideal condition. What has North Korea always insisted on, even after the Korean War? Aren’t they constantly demanding the U.S. forces withdraw from the Korean Peninsula? They have consistently tried to undermine our country’s relationship with the United States.
Ukraine is a very good example. In the Russia-Ukraine war right now, many countries in Europe, including the United States, are helping Ukraine. Ukraine has very good relations with its neighbors, while Russia, on the other hand, is increasingly isolated. From Russia’s point of view, relations with neighboring countries are not very good, so it is impossible to wage a winning war because it is applying the lowest level strategy of attacking the country with force.
There is no need to tell you what to prepare for the unification of North and South Korea, and it is well shown through what is happening in the world right now. We must become a healthy nation. We must not become a nation that self-destructs before going to war. We must protect the lives and property of the people and find and root out crimes that are becoming more and more clever and cunning. We must maintain good relations with neighboring countries so that other countries cannot attack without permission.
I think you will understand why we need to appoint and educate 10 million people as National Committee members to prepare for unification. If divisions occur among the people in our country, we cannot become a healthy nation. Furthermore, if there are many people who support North Korea, we will go on the path of self-destruction.
In this photo, right in the middle of Gwanghwamun Plaza, these people are holding a rally holding a banner saying that Kim Jong-un of North Korea is a great leader and let’s warmly welcome Chairman Kim Jong-un. They announce openly they’re recruiting for the welcoming corps. A nation loses its power when its people are divided. You can’t do this and you can’t do that. It means you can’t use your strength. When the people gather their strength with one mind, the nation is healthy and has the power to protect the lives and property of its people. The “citizens’ committees for preparation for reunification” should play a central role in uniting the hearts of the people. We must not allow North Korean communism to confuse the minds of the people.
A healthy nation is one that has the power to protect people’s lives and property. A healthy nation is one that allows its people to freely pursue and realize what they like and want. People want to have precious and good things. No matter what nice gifts others give you, it’s not good if you don’t like them. You may have experienced what happens when you buy clothes for your children without asking them. If they don’t like the clothes, they don’t want to wear them no matter how expensive they are. So freedom is precious. There is joy in life when you can do what you want to do, have what you like, and go where you want to go. People want to find and own precious and valuable things through a free life. Communist countries like to claim that the state can give its people everything they need, but that is a fundamentally wrong ideology. What’s more, the state cannot deliver the things that the people pursue and think are spiritually precious and precious. This is because spiritually valuable things and precious things are obtained through individual effort, sincerity, and realization.
It is said that filial piety is the most precious of all human actions. True filial piety comes out when you realize the love and grace of your parents. Some may say how could I not know the love of my parents, who gave me life, protected me, nurtured me, and gave me infinite grace. That is why it is said that those who do not know the grace of their parents are like animals. The fact that children do not know filial piety is not because their parents do not love them. No matter how much love your parents give you, it is difficult to realize it without your own wisdom and life experience. Parents can’t do anything. It is so difficult to realize the grace of their parents. Some people only realize it after their parents go to the grave, and some people live their whole lives giving their parents pain and die before their parents do.
People need freedom to live. While enjoying that freedom, finding and owning many good, precious, and precious things is life, but the most precious thing to find is the love of parents. A mother’s love is known as supreme and pure love. It is like a mountain that is so high and lofty that you can’t reach it and you can’t climb it. Standing before such a mother’s love, she becomes infinitely smaller and humbled. But at the same time, she thinks that she wants to leave such a mother’s pure love to her children. Such a mother’s love is the same even after the mother has passed away. When something good happens in the family, I think of my parents who passed away, and on the one hand, I am happy, but on the other hand, my heart is full. Really precious and precious things are invisible like this, but they are more precious and precious than anything that can be seen. When I look at other mothers, I think that she must have lived a noble life like my mother’s. Even when I see children other than my own, I think that she must have grown up like that because they also received a mother’s boundless love, so I can’t treat anyone carelessly. It is when we open our eyes to the invisible love and grace of our parents that a person becomes truly human.
What a person has freedom is to find and own what is precious and valuable and likes. The most precious and precious thing is to realize your parents’ love. One step further and more precious and precious is to reach the realization of God’s love. When I realize that God is my parent, my life is renewed. It is so difficult to realize the grace and love of my parents who gave birth to me and raised me, so how can it be so easy to realize the invisible love and grace of God? Although it is not easy to realize God’s love and grace, it should not stop us from going down the road.
Talking about the reunification of North and South Korea and the love of parents and love of God, although it is not an easy path, it is the most precious, valuable and good thing to find in life as a human being, and everyone, no matter who they are, This is because the question of whether one can live a life of finding that love through effort is related to the issue of the reunification of the two Koreas. Since the North Korean communist system fundamentally does not open the way for North Koreans to find the rare and precious things they like on their own will, even the North Koreans want to leave the system, but how can they embrace the South Koreans? The North Korean communist system needs fundamental changes. The most important change is to guarantee freedom of religion to the people.
When Rev. Sun Myung Moon visited North Korea and met with then-President Kim Il-sung, or visited the Soviet Union and met with then-President Gorbachev, what he clearly said was that there can be no real progress unless they allow freedom of religion.
Then, how about Korea? Korea is a country with freedom of religion. Is it a society where people can freely walk the path leading to the realization of the love of their parents and God’s love? There is no doubt that this is a society that enjoys freedom, but there are many things that block the way to realization of what is truly precious and valuable. It is blocked by individualism, materialism, and decadent culture. Even if North Korean compatriots unite and can live a free life, if they cannot escape from individualism, materialism, and decadent culture, what is freedom for? Freedom to find something really noble and precious? Or is it the freedom to live in the prison of individualism and materialism under the name of freedom?
Even if all of us who were commissioned as members of the National Committee for Preparation for Unification were to lay down nuclear weapons and melt guns and knives into sickles and plowshares in order to truly prepare for unification, all of us have the walls of individualism and materialism. If you are locked up without being able to break down the walls of corruption and the walls of decadent culture, you will not be able to become a member of the people’s committee preparing for true reunification. Individualism, materialism, and decadent culture are the elements that lead to self-destruction. While we are struggling to find a path to peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, we must also gather our hearts to eliminate self-destructive elements.
I would like you to regard the National Committee for Unification Preparation as a reserve army mobilized to achieve peaceful reunification of the two Koreas without war. It is like a reserve force mobilized in advance to prevent being mobilized as a reserve force after a war has occurred. The reserve forces that are mobilized after war are those that are forcibly mobilized. They are reservists who are ready to go even if they do not want to. The National Committee for Preparation for Unification is the people of the Republic of Korea whose hearts have been moved and who have gathered together to prepare for unification.
Dr. Hak Ja Han Han emphasized that the hearts of the Korean people must unite as one to meet the fast-approaching destiny of unification. Mother Moon also told us to pray for the loyal devotees to be with us.
I earnestly pray that the people of the Republic of Korea will be of one mind through this concerted worship today, and that Heaven will help and be with us so that the two Koreas can lay down their nuclear weapons and open the way for peaceful unification without fighting. I earnestly pray that the walls of “all-powerfulism” will be demolished, that the trap of decadent culture will be released and that the door will be opened to find a world of truly precious and beautiful love.