May 28, 2010: Christian leaders are deeply divided over the current serious tension between North and South Koreas. Some blame the North for creating the problem, while others blame the South.

The secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea has urged both governments to be cautious, ucanews.com reports.

President Lee Myung-bak took tough measures against North Korea on May 24 by slashing trade agreements, in retaliation to the torpedo attack on the Cheonan warship that killed 46 South Korean sailors. Collected evidence strongly suggests that the attack was carried out by a North Korean submarine.

In return, North Korea has threatened a total block on all relations with South Korea, declaring that it may start dealing with further inter-Korean affairs on a “wartime” footing.

Conservative Protestant leaders in the South expressed support for President Lee, who is himself a Protestant.

Reverend Rhee Kwang-sun, president of the Christian Council of Korea, said he recognized that many people fear a possible war, but added that “North Korea deserves such tough measures and should learn a good lesson from it.”

But a Catholic official of the Seoul Archdiocese, who has asked to be unnamed, expressed grave concerns over South Korea’s ‘tit for tat’ policy.

“Even if it is true that North Korea attacked the Cheonan, President Lee and other top politicians who call themselves Christians have made the situation worse,” he said.