Persecution watchdog, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), is sounding the alarm about the grim and dire conditions for Christians inside North Korea. The hermit nation has long been one of the most diabolical Christian persecutors, but a new report underscores the true gravity of the deteriorating conditions inside the nation. The document commemorates the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that previously explored the dangerous state of affairs inside North Korea. “Ten years on from the publication of the COI’s report, CSW finds that the Kim regime has made no effort to uphold international human rights standards and has taken no steps to participate as an active member of the international community,” a statement from CSW reads. “The situation of human rights in the country remains unchanged at best and may even have deteriorated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased prioritization of weapons testing and development, and the continued forced repatriation of North Korean refugees from neighbouring China.”
David Simpson, an East Asian advocate for CSW, reiterated to the worsening state of affairs inside North Korea. He said the original UN report from 10 years ago was important in that it highlighted the human rights atrocities being perpetuated by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and other officials. “The 2014 report showed that we don’t only have to worry about the Kim regime’s nuclear capacity,” Simpson said. “The true cost of the Kim regime’s totalitarian rule is the people of North Korea and how they are affected.” Under Kim, who came to power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011, North Korea’s isolation has only intensified. While some previous cooperation existed between South and North Korea, even that modicum of collaboration has evaporated. “There was a factory right on the border with North and South Korea that was owned by South Koreans, and North Koreans were able to come and work there and gain a wage,” Simpson said. “There was a communications tower where they had a direct cable to Seoul, but Kim Jong Un actually blew up that tower.”
Simpson gave the example of two high school students sentenced to hard labour for simply watching TV shows. North Koreans aren’t free to unreservedly practice their faith either. “Christian groups and other folks in the country that practice traditional Korean religion … are executed, exiled, and sent to jail for the possession of a Bible, for holding church services,” Simpson said. “It’s one of the most radical things that people can do in that country, and it’s seen as being a traitor.” Simpson said Christianity, in particular, is targeted for a variety of reasons. One issue centres on the help North Korean refugees able to escape receive from Christian missionaries in China and South Korea, two bordering nations. “Chinese missionaries take extreme risks to help North Koreans,” he said. “So, it’s common for the first people in the outside world for North Koreans to have contact with are Christians. So, Christians are the ones who are telling them, ‘You’ve been sold a lie and you’re living in a hermit, isolated kingdom, and this is what the real world’s like.’”
This obviously isn’t seen as a positive by North Korean government officials looking to continue their horrific rule. Beyond that, Simpson said South Korea and the US have very large Christian populations. With both nations standing as enemies of North Korea, this plays a role in views on the faith. Third, the underground Christian church in North Korea has reportedly been growing and is seen as “completely undermining the authority and rule” of the government. One of the most interesting elements, Simpson said, surrounds the discussion over beliefs Kim and other North Korean leaders are deities or, at the very least, elevated to such a place of personality cult where citizens are essentially forced into worship of these governmental figures. Simpson said this isn’t resonating anymore among some younger North Koreans. “They follow along in order to survive.” Simpson and CSW are hoping the new report sheds further light on the chaos inside North Korea, helping educate the world about the troubling situation within its borders. “There’s a complete dehumanization of the people, and we cannot look away from their suffering,” he said.
Source: Faithwire
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