Persecution of Christians in North Korea: North Korea is arguably the most dangerous place on earth for Christians. The U.S. State Department has placed North Korea on its list of countries that violate religious freedom every year since 2001.
Christians in North Korea are called upon to have the faith and perseverance of the saints and martyrs. There is or was at least one Orthodox parish in North Korea, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang, but its present status is unclear. Please continue to beseech Almighty God for peace and security for the Orthodox Christians and all Christians of North Korea.
For more ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in North Korea, see here.
“North Korea urged to release Christian serving 15 years for sharing gospel,” by Caleb Parke, Fox News, April 30, 2020:
A Christian nonprofit that supports persecuted believers all over the world is urging North Korea to release one person kidnapped and imprisoned by the Hermit Kingdom for sharing the gospel.
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) Korea launched a global letter-writing campaign advocating for the release of Jang Moon Seok, a Korean-Chinese Christian, arrested for evangelizing North Koreans on the border with China.
“Deacon Jang was targeted for abduction by North Korea’s government specifically because of his gospel work reaching North Koreans crossing into China. He’s been held captive more than 2,000 days—in conditions, most of us can’t even imagine,” Todd Nettleton, spokesman for VOM and host of VOM Radio, told Fox News.
He added, “But we, as Christians, can respond. We can pray for Deacon Jang and for other Christians imprisoned in North Korea. And we can have a voice, calling on North Korean leaders to release this unjustly imprisoned man, our brother in Christ.”
The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) Korea launched a global letter-writing campaign advocating for the release of Jang Moon Seok, a Korean-Chinese Christian, arrested for evangelizing North Koreans on the border with China.Jang ministered alongside Rev. Han Chung-Ryeol, a pastor who is believed to have reached at least 1,000 North Koreans before he was assassinated in 2016, according to a defector.
“Deacon Jang, who is also known by his Chinese name Zhang Wen Shi, is an ethnically Korean Chinese citizen who was kidnapped in November 2014 from China and put in a North Korean prison,” VOM Korea spokesman, Dr. Hyun Sook Foley said in a statement.
She added, “We believe the reason for his kidnapping was to gather information about the North Korean ministry work we were doing with Pastor Han.”
Jang is serving a 15-year prison sentence for allegedly defaming the Kim regime, attempting to incite subversion of state power, and providing aid and gospel to North Korean citizens.
More than a year after Jang’s kidnapping and arrest on Nov. 1, 2014, the group believes Han was lured from his home and stabbed to death in Changbai, China.
Foley describes Jang as “a simple man who never did anything political. He just helped North Korean people for many years. That should never be a crime, and Christians should join together to help Deacon Jang and his family.”
Jang would clothe and shelter North Koreans who traveled over the border and would share his faith, along with Han, according to VOM Korea….
The Hermit Kingdom sits at No. 1 in the World Watch List as the most dangerous place to be a Christian, according to Open Doors 2020 World Watch List.
