North Korea allows the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace to organise a meeting in its capital to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule. In Seoul, Iranian religious from Iran take part in a conference to counter misunderstandings about Islam.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korea's Communist authorities will allow the Korea Conference of Religions for Peace (KCRP) to organise an interfaith gathering in Pyongyang to pray for peace.

The event will be held in the second half of 2015 when the Koreas will celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

The KCRP represents seven of South Korea's major religious groups and organises ecumenical and interreligious meetings worldwide.

"We've finished sharing our ideas with the Choson Conference of Religions, a group representing the five major religious groups in North Korea," said Kim Kwang-jun, the Anglican priest who serves as the conference's secretary general.

The KCRP plans to hold the event between August and September with Mount Keumgang and Pyongyang as the venue, although Pyongyang appears more likely.

Kim also said that preparations were underway for a music recital for peace at the Korean Workers' Party Headquarters in Cheorwon County.

North Korea's Ministry of Religious Affairs and Foreign Ministry have already given their greenlight. Only the Ministry of Interior is left before the event takes place. However, Rev Kim said that he was confident that the latter would eventually authorise it.

The KCRP is also planning a seminar tomorrow between South Korean and Iranian religious scholars at the Memorial Hall for the History and Culture of Korean Buddhism in Seoul. The event is being organised to counter misunderstandings about Islam.

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