North Korea Raids Secret Church, Five Detained
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PYONGYANG (Worthy News) – Five Christians have been detained in North Korea and may face death after security forces raided a secret church service, well-informed Christian aid workers told Worthy News.
The crackdown underscored broader concerns about the reported persecution of Christians in what is seen as one of the world’s most repressive communist nations.
“Fervent prayer is needed for five North Korean Christians arrested as they attended a secret church service in a farmhouse at 5 am on Sunday, April 30,” said Christian charity Barnabas Aid.
“The Christians had been meeting each week at the farmhouse in the village of Tongam in South Pyongan province,” the group told Worthy News. “At the site of the worship service, the police retrieved dozens of Bible booklets and arrested all in attendance,” a Tongam resident was quoted as saying.
“Believers in prison or labor camps in North Korea are often singled out for especially harsh treatment and may well face death,” added Barnabas Aid.
“In North Korea’s songbun system, citizens are classified according to their perceived loyalty to the state. Religious believers are placed in the “hostile” class and are considered enemies of the state. Christians have been executed for the “crime” of owning a Bible.”
Underground churches in Tongam had been raided twice before, in 2005 and 1997, and the believers were sent to labor camps, according to Christians familiar with the situation.
LONG HISTORY
“Tongam’s history with Christianity goes even further back. A second resident confirmed the site of a large church building that stood even after the Japanese had occupied the Korean peninsula in 1905 and made Shinto the state religion,” Barnabas Aid said.
“She added that the five captured Christians have refused to renounce their faith despite pressure from the authorities. A staff member of the judicial agency told us that the [Christians] refused to tell where they got their Bibles and said, ‘All for Jesus, even in death.’”
They are believed to be among thousands of Christians practicing their faith in secret in North Korea, where the Stalinist system is based on the total devotion of their leader Kim Jong Un.
The ideology known as Juche, which preaches self-reliance, was promoted by the late leader Kim Il Sung and his successor, Kim Jong Il.
Barnabas Aid urged its supporters to pray “for our brothers and sisters arrested at this meeting” and for their families and to “give thanks for their faithfulness and steadfastness.”
The group prayed that “the Lord will sustain them and their families whatever they face – even that He will grant them release.” Pray for “wisdom, discernment, and courage for all North Korean Christians as they meet secretly for worship,” the charity stressed.
It also extended prayers to all believers detained in the country of nearly 26 million people for their faith. Ask God “that they will have a deep assurance of coming forth as gold after their suffering,” Barnabas Aid added, citing Bible verse Job 23:10.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.