ICC Note:
At least 200,000 Christians have gone missing in North Korea since 1953, found a report by Aid to the Church in Need. The Kim Jung Un regime has escalated persecution of Christians in an effort to stamp out religion in the country. The report states that as many as 50,000 Christians may currently be in labor camps for their faith, although it is impossible to know the true number. It is believed there are as many as 300,000 to 500,000 Christians still in North Korea. Those who try to escape often experience imprisonment, torture, and public execution. North Korea is regularly ranked as the country with the world’s worst persecution by Open Doors USA.
10/31/16 North Korea (Forbes) – Many governments persecute people of religious faith. However, one nation stands out: North Korea.
Getting accurate information on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is difficult, since today’s communist state lives up to ancient Korea’s nickname of the “Hermit Kingdom.” Before World War II missionaries were active throughout the peninsula, then a Japanese colony, and more than a fifth of the population was believed to be Christian in 1948. Between 300,000 and 500,000 Christians are thought to remain in North Korea today. Refugees from the North report religious involvement ranging from 1.2 percent participating in to 5.1 percent witnessing secret religious activities.
The DPRK ostentatiously treats anyone of faith, but especially Christians, as hostile. Believers place loyalty to God before that of the North Korean state. Churches allow people to act and organize outside of state entities. Christianity also has ties to a world seen as almost uniformly threatening by Pyongyang.
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