Persecution Expert: N. Korea Likely to Crack Down on Christians after Activist’s Entry
ICC Note
“Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are not regarded as human,”
By Michelle A. Vu
01/07/2010 North Korea (The Christian Post)- It is “very, very” unlikely that any good will come to North Korean Christians in the short term from the recent illegal entry of the Korean-American activist, said the president of a ministry that works with persecuted Christians.
“It is hard for us to know how it will impact the Christians in North Korea ,” said Carl Moeller, president/CEO of Open Doors USA, the world’s largest mission agency working on behalf of persecuted Christians.
“[But] I can say clearly – though I don’t know Mr. Park and I don’t actually understand his motivation for this type of method – the likelihood of it helping the Christians [in North Korea ] in the short term is very, very small.”
Moeller spoke to The Christian Post Wednesday on the day that his ministry released its 2010 World Watch List, an annual list that ranks the world’s top persecutors of Christians.
For the eighth straight year, North Korea was given the undesirable title of the world’s worst persecutor of Christians.
The totalitarian regime bans Christianity and has publically executed citizens found to possess a Bible. An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians are currently in prison labor camps because of their faith.
“Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are not regarded as human,” said a veteran North Korean watcher, who is not identified for security reasons, to Open Doors for the release of its report. “Last year we had evidence that some were used as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons.”
