Barricades are set up at a military checkpoint on the Tongil bridge, the road leading to North Korea’s Kaesong city, in the border city of Paju on Oct. 9, 2024. North Korea’s army said on Oct. 9 it was moving to “permanently shut off and block the southern border” with Seoul and had informed the U.S. military to prevent an accidental clash. / Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Oct 14, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

South Korean officials warned Monday of rapidly growing military threats from North Korea, with tensions escalating.

Days before, a South Korean prelate, in an interview with Fides News Agency, said Catholics continue to pray for peace and hope but that “hope is fading” for reunification between the two East Asian countries.

The South Korean government said Monday that North Korea is preparing to destroy some inter-Korean roads following allegations that Seoul flew drones over northern territories, the Associated Press reported.

North Korean troops have also reportedly been sent to the border between the two countries, with the communist government saying its soldiers are prepared to strike against South Korean targets.

Ahead of the escalating conflict, Seoul Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung told Fides that the “desire for reunification is diminishing” among South Koreans.

The archbishop also serves as the apostolic administrator of Pyongyang, North Korea; a bishop has not operated directly out of Pyongyang for decades. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2024 annual report that religious freedom is “nonexistent” in North Korea, with “state-controlled religious sites and organizations” including the Korean Catholic Association offering an “illusion of freedom of religion.” 

The total Catholic population of the country has been estimated to range from 800 to 3,000 faithful. 

“I think many young people in the South are beginning to believe that reconciliation or reunification are not viable paths. Hope is fading,” Chung told the news agency. 

“I think it is appropriate to continue to dream of peaceful coexistence and to keep the light of hope burning in Korean society, especially today,” the prelate said. 

But “in the current stalemate, with the total blockade of communication routes, the situation is very bleak,” he said.

Chung told the news service that Catholics will “continue with prayer and education for peace.” 

“We are approaching the Holy Year, which has as its theme hope; we are pilgrims of hope, also with regard to relations with the North,” he said. 

Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young of the Diocese of Chuncheon in South Korea told Fides that “both sides view each other with a certain hostility and all channels are closed, even that of humanitarian aid, which was kept open in the past.” The bishop also serves as president of the Episcopal Commission for Reconciliation.

“And even if the Korean public opinion is still quite divided on policy towards the North, all Koreans are united when it comes to sending humanitarian aid to North Korea,” he said. 

“But North Korea keeps all channels closed, including humanitarian ones,” he added. 

“We pray above all for the doors to open. All the faithful of the Church in Korea participate in this prayer,” the bishop said.