Korean ‘Chapel of Peace’ to Be Built in Demilitarized Zone – Urban Christian News

A new chapel for peace will be built in the Korean Demilitarized Zone in the only village where North and South Korean troops stand face-to-face.

In what is known as the truce village of at Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area, a groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this month to commemorate the new chapel that will be presided over by Bishop Francis Xavier Yu Soo-il.

According UCA News, an Asia-based outlet that covers Catholic news, the structure will act as a “chapel of peace.”

The building will be one story tall and is expected be able to accommodate 100 worshipers.

Expected to be completed by March 2019, the building will be located on a plot of land that measures over 2,000 square meters.

The new building will replace an older chapel that was constructed in 1958, about three years after peace talks between the two sides resulted in a ceasefire.

The groundbreaking ceremony held on June 5 came about a week before United States President Donald Trump met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore and signed a joint statement calling for a lasting peace and stability in the Korean peninsula. It also came a little over a month after Kim met with South Korean president Moon Jae In and signed an agreement to work towards a “common goal” of denuclearization in the peninsula.

“The construction of the new chapel in the JSA is a gift showing God’s grace,” Xavier said, according to UCA News.

Xavier stated that the chapel will serve as a place where people can pray to “overcome the division of the two Koreas” and peaceful reunification.

“It…