North Korea tops list of countries persecuting Christians
by Allie Martin
February 12, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - The communist nation of North Korea, under the dictatorial hand of Kim Jong-il, has once again topped a list of countries that persecute Christians. The annual "World Watch List" by Open Doors has placed North Korea at the top of the list for the fifth year in a row. "Nothing has changed" for the North Korean people, says Open Doors, despite media attention focused on the country last year because of the regime's missile and nuclear testing. According to information obtained by the ministry, more people were arrested last year in North Korea than the previous year, leaving an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians in prison camps.
Paul Estabrooks, minister at large for Open Doors, says conditions for believers in North Korea are brutal and harsh. "North Korea has almost an official policy against Christianity," he explains. "They're very much against the United States."
Part of the North Korean culture, says Estabrooks, includes teaching children that their country and the United States are still at war. "They teach their children that they've never ended the war that occurred in the 1950s," he says. As a result, "they have this terrible anti-Western attitude throughout the country -- and part of that expands, of course, to Christianity," he says.
According to Open Doors, the North Korean government considers Christianity to be a "tremendous threat" the nation's stability and, therefore, "hunts Christians" all over the country, especially those who try to return from China.
Estabrooks shares that there is no other nation in the world where believers are persecuted so severely. "They're a country where it's technically illegal to be a Christian," he says. "People leave the country for food, [then] come back as Christians and often receive torture, arrest, or even life in labor camps because of their faith."
But amidst such harshness and persecution, says Open Doors, the local Christians are "firmly standing strong" and remain dedicated to serving the local body of believers.
Following North Korea, the report lists Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, and the island nation of Maldives. Islam is the majority religion in six of the top ten countries on the list.
