Christians have marched for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula at a vigil in Washington D.C. marking the 61st anniversary of the Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War in 1953.

Marchers included representatives from the National Council of Churches in Korea as well as from the United Methodist Church (UMC), which hosted the July 26 event, the World Council of Churches reports.

The participants marched from the Foundry United Methodist Church to Lafayette Park, located at the rear of the White House.

Rev. Mary Ann Swenson of the UMC and vice-moderator of the WCC main governing body, its central committee said that 61 years is a long period of time, marked by the unfolding realization that the Korean peninsula should be one.

She said that on August 10, the Sunday before 15 August – Korean Independence Day - the 345 member churches of the WCC joined a call for prayer for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula.

The representatives of the UMC and the NCCK also visited the White House on 25 July and met with Sydney Seiler, director for Korea at the National Security Council.

In their meeting the church leaders emphasized the necessity of defusing the conflict and realizing peace on the Korean peninsula.

Some participants also met with Robert R. King, special envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues.

They discussed the necessity for change in the United States' policy toward North Korea in order to build peace on the Korean peninsula.

At its 2012 General Assembly, the UMC adopted a "4-year plan for peace and reconciliation in the Korean peninsula."

Following this resolution, representatives of the UMC will also visit North Korea and South Korea in 2015.