“The way the South Korean government chooses to respond determines what happens next. The important thing is that God is still in control. He still has a special plan and purpose for North Korea……”

Christian leaders on the Korean Peninsula are calling for prayer as tensions escalate between North and South Korea.

A 1,200-ton South Korean warship, the Cheonan, sank March 26 after a North Korean submarine launched a torpedo attack, killing 46 South Korean sailors in one of the South’s worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War. During her May visit to Seoul, South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised the full support of the U.S. government as South Korea seeks U.N. sanctions against the North.

As the South Korean government weighs its response, political and military posturing is on the rise between the two countries. Amid the turmoil, a North Korean refugee is calling on South Korean Christians to join a prayer movement.

“We are praying that the leadership of both countries will have discernment, wisdom and patience,” said Thomas Parks, a Christian worker based in South Korea.

While confrontations between North and South are not uncommon, Christian leaders agree that this latest incident is different from the past. Lewis Rho, who heads a humanitarian organization that provides food assistance within the impoverished North, has seen many political and spiritual changes through the years. Rho believes the sinking of the Cheonan is to South Korea what 9/11 was to the United States.

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