North Korea Number 1 on the Persecution Watch List Current North Korean Population: 24,431,448 Current Christian Population in North Korea: 412,891

International Religious Freedom Report 2010: North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)

The Constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief;" however, in practice the Government severely restricted religious activity, except that which was supervised tightly by officially recognized groups linked to the Government. Genuine religious freedom does not exist.

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the period covered by this report, and government policy continued to interfere with the individual's ability to choose and to manifest his or her religious belief. The regime continued to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. Recent refugee, defector, missionary, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) reports indicate that religious persons engaging in proselytizing in the country, those who have ties to overseas evangelical Christian groups operating across the border in the People's Republic of China, and specifically those repatriated from China and found to have been in contact with foreigners or missionaries, have been arrested and subjected to harsh penalties. Refugees and defectors continued to allege that they witnessed the arrests and execution of members of underground Christian churches by the regime in prior years. Due to the country's inaccessibility and the inability to gain timely information, the continuation of this activity during the time period covered by this report remained difficult to verify. The Government allowed foreigners to attend government-sponsored religious services.

There were no reports available on societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.

The U.S. Government does not have diplomatic relations with the country. Since 2001 the Secretary has designated the country a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Government raised its concerns about the deplorable state of human rights in the country with bilateral partners and in multilateral forums.

The Government does not allow representatives of foreign governments, journalists, or other invited guests freedom of movement that would enable them to fully assess human rights conditions or confirm reported abuses. This report is based on information from interviews, press reports, NGO reports, and missionary, refugee, and defector testimony obtained over the past decade, supplemented where possible by information drawn from more recent reports from visitors to the country and NGO representatives working on the Chinese border. Refugee and defector testimony is often dated because of the time lapse between departures from the country and contact with organizations able to document human rights conditions. This report cites specific sources and timeframes wherever possible, and reports are corroborated to the extent possible. While limited in detail, the information in this report is indicative of the situation with regard to religious freedom in the country in recent years.

US Department of State 2009 Human Rights Report: North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party (KWP) and chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), the "highest office of state." The country has an estimated population of 23.5 million. Kim's father, the late Kim Il-sung, remains "eternal president." Local elections held in July 2007 were not free or fair. There was no civilian control of the security forces, and members of the security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

The government's human rights record remained poor, and the regime continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The regime subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There continued to be reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and political prisoners. Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening, and torture occurred. Pregnant female prisoners underwent forced abortions in some cases, and in other cases babies were killed upon birth in prisons. The judiciary was not independent and did not provide fair trials. Citizens were denied freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and the government attempted to control all information. The government restricted freedom of religion, citizens' movement, and worker rights. There continued to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated refugees. There were widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China.

Religious Freedom 2008.

The constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief"; however, in practice the government severely restricted religious freedom unless supervised by officially recognized groups linked to the government. The law also stipulates that religion "should not be used for purposes of dragging in foreign powers or endangering public security." Genuine religious freedom did not exist.

The personality cult of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il continued to resemble a state religion that provided a spiritual underpinning for the regime. Refusal to accept the leader as the supreme authority was regarded as opposition to the national interest and continued to result in severe punishment.

The 2007 Korea Institute for National Unification's White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea concluded that the regime used authorized religious entities for external propaganda and political purposes and strictly barred local citizens from entering places of worship. For example, funds and goods that were donated to government-approved churches were channeled to the KWP by the government.

There were unconfirmed reports that the nonreligious children of religious believers may be employed at mid-levels of the government. In the past such individuals suffered broad discrimination with sometimes severe penalties or even imprisonment.

According to defector reports, the government reportedly was concerned that faith-based South Korean relief and refugee assistance efforts along the border with China had both humanitarian and political goals, including overthrow of the regime, and alleged that these groups were involved in intelligence gathering. According to an unconfirmed claim from one foreign religious NGO, nine North Korean nationals in its network disappeared in 2007. The reason for their reported disappearance could not be confirmed.

There continued to be reports of underground Christian churches. The government repressed and persecuted unauthorized religious groups in recent years. Defectors reported that persons engaged in religious proselytizing, persons with ties to overseas evangelical groups, and repatriated persons who contacted foreigners while outside the country were arrested and subjected to harsh punishment. Defectors asserted that citizens who received help from foreign churches were considered political criminals and received harsher treatment, including imprisonment, prolonged detention without charge, torture, and execution

According to NGO reports, 10 college students were arrested by the National Security Agency for reading a Bible and watching a DVD about the Bible.

Religious and human rights groups outside the country continued to provide numerous unconfirmed reports that members of underground churches were beaten, arrested, detained in prison camps, tortured, or killed because of their religious beliefs.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

There was no information on societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of religious groups.

There was no known Jewish population, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.





The Scripture Seeds Foundation is concerned with the Missionaries and Martrys that suffer and struggle while bringing the Word of God to the North Korean People. We believe that all Christians, World-Wide, need to be made more aware of the sacrifice, dedication and determination of the Missionaries and People of North Korea to freely worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We hope that you will support the missions and organizations listed throughout this site so that they may continue their important works. Remember what a source of comfort and inspiration your Bible is to you and support the Bibles Unbound project.