North Korean Believers Remain in Chains

This is a copy of an email I was sent from Open Doors which gives an update regarding the persecution of Christians by the North Korean government.Please continue to pray for the Christians in this land and that the desperate situation they face will soon come to an end.AK


The United States has recently removed North Korea the No. 1 persecutor of Christians from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. As a result, according to news reports, North Korea said it will allegedly restart dismantling of its main nuclear facilities and allow inspections by U.N. monitors.

The 2008 Open Doors World Watch List ranked North Korea as the top violator of religious rights for the sixth year in a row. More Christians were arrested in North Korea in 2007 than in 2006. Many have been beaten, tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs. Open Doors' local source estimates the number of underground Christians to be at least 200,000, and it's likely that there are as many as 400,000 believers. At least a quarter of the Christians are imprisoned for their faith in political prison camps, from which people rarely get out alive.

Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, says:


“There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner. Often three generations of Christians are hunted down and killed or placed in prisons. Taking North Korea off the terrorism list just prolongs the life of a failing regime by giving it legitimacy. And it means this totalitarian regime will make life harsher for Christians. We need to keep the pressure on the United States government not to forget the terrible status of Christians. Future dialogue should include freedom of religion and other basic human rights. North Korea has not softened its targeting of thousands of Christians one bit. We must not forget the Christians in North Korea and how the regime of Kim Jong Il keeps them in chains. Please pray with me to have those chains broken."

The remaining countries on the United States terrorism blacklist are Cuba, Syria, Sudan and Iran. North Korea had been on the list since 1988.
Please continue to pray for believers in North Korea and also for the repercussions of removing North Korea from the U.S. terror list.
Praying with you,
Christina and the Prayer Force Team