Franklin Graham Arrives in North Korea
10/13/09 North Korea (ANS) Franklin Graham, the son of veteran evangelist Billy Graham, arrived on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, in Pyongyang on his third trip to North Korea, where he is meeting with high-level government officials. He will also inspect some of the medical facilities installed by Samaritan’s Purse.
“I believe it is important to make visits like this to help improve relations and to have a better understanding with each other,” Graham said. “I’m going as a minister of Jesus Christ with a message of peace and that God loves each one of us, regardless of our borders or politics.”
Samaritan’s Purse has been working in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 1997, providing more than $10 million in assistance. From June 2008 to March 2009, Samaritan’s Purse was part of a consortium that distributed food to more than 900,000 people.
The Samaritan’s Purse website (www.samaritanspurse.org) said that in 2007, the organization chartered a 747 cargo plane to deliver medicine and emergency supplies following devastating floods. It was the first private flight directly from the United States to the DPRK since the Korean War.
Last year, Graham visited hospitals in the DPRK that lacked electrical power. Samaritan’s Purse has since installed diesel and solar generators at three hospitals. Graham is scheduled to visit one of those hospitals and also will oversee the delivery of $190,000 in equipment to outfit a dental school that can train up to 70 dentists per year.
Later this week, Graham is scheduled to travel on to China, where he will dedicate a clinic built by Samaritan’s Purse, speak at several churches, and visit a city that was destroyed in last year’s earthquake.
