ICC Note: Although North Korean government recently released three Korean-American detainees all believed to be Christians, it does not signify that human rights situation in the country is improving. Open Doors USA shares how we ought to continue to remember and pray for the underground North Korea Christians enduring hardship.

05/21/2018 North Korea (Mission Network News) – Earlier this month, North Korea released three US prisoners—an exciting and long-awaited development.

The three men are Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak-song. Kim Dong-chul was arrested in 2015 and then sentenced a year later to ten years of hard labor, on a conviction of espionage. The other two were arrested last year on charges of hostile acts.

The release of these prisoners is viewed as the removal of a roadblock to the summit planned between President Trump and Kim Jong-un next month. However, this meeting could be on the rocks following North Korea’s threat to pull out.

Regardless of whether or not the meeting takes place, Robert Kenna of Open Doors USA says the release of the prisoners is exciting news, and that it draws attention to the greater human rights issues in North Korea.

“This is just a very small beginning in scratching the surface on what’s really happening in the country. And so, we’re incredibly excited that three prisoners have kind of a different trajectory for their lives, outside of North Korean prisons and interrogation camps. But we’re also pointing awareness to the more than 50,000 Christians that we believe are held in those interrogation centers and prison cells and work camps throughout the country.”

North Korea has topped the World Watch List for the last 17 years. So, if the prisoner release is a sign of good will and openness to discuss other issues, the question is this: What is it going to take for North Korea to no longer top the World Watch List?

Christian Persecution

Kenna says, “It is ranked as toughest place in the world for Christians. And a lot of that is because the regime—it makes no room for faith or Christianity. That faith needs to be worshipping the Kims and the regime. So, believers have to go in secret and worship.”

If people are found out to be Christians, they and their families will be punished. Additionally, Kenna says, the regime has established a network of spies among the citizens of North Korea. Anyone who reveals the illegal acts of another will be rewarded. In some cases, even children rat out their parents, whether on purpose or by accident.

For North Korea to no longer be considered the number one offender of religious freedoms for Christians, this environment needs to change.

“There’s not going to be freedom in North Korea until there is freedom for Christians and there’s freedom for free thought,” Kenna says.

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