Chinese Christians to evangelize in North Korea the most hostile country towards Christians. Chinese Christian missionaries reiterated they have “no fears” regarding brutal treatment they may face at the hands of the regime. Christian persecution watchdog China Aid quotes two pastors saying that they are well aware of the circumstances they might face in North Korea while sharing the Gospel of Christ.
Both the Chinese pastors said: “He [one of the pastors] shared something about the cruelty of how people will be mistreated in North Korea if they are found to be Christians, or if they ever say anything about Jesus. If they are North Koreans, their family will probably disappear, and the men will probably be beaten or have their hands chopped off. If they are women, you can imagine; maybe they will be raped by many people at the same time.
So, he’s saying that, since you’re speaking of fear, their team is training [missionaries] who are fearless and also don’t have family. Like, they’re single, they’re not married yet, but they’re ready to lay down their lives for Christ at any time if they ever go to [North] Korea and meet any bad situations.”
They referred to a case when a Korean-Chinese church leader was killed in North Korea after evangelizing for almost 17 years in the hostile country. They revealed that his dead body was found stabbed 17 times in the Tumen River in northeast China. “He was probably assassinated by the North Koreans,” the pastors said. “So that’s why we’re now building this fearless team of people who are willing to die if they have to. Because it’s not about ourselves, or about them, but all that matters is God’s kingdom,” one of the pastors added.
“Because we love them, and God loves them, and God has mercy upon them, so we are willing to dedicate ourselves to them. We hope that everybody that can contribute their efforts to this ministry. We can be united together and accomplish the purpose together.”
The other pastor said, “We don’t want to be known by people. We just want to make our own efforts for Christ. We’re specially called by God to be in this ministry, which nobody else wants to do.” In this pretext, a Christian persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) released a report earlier in September unfolding that the Christians in North Korea face atrocities such as enslavement, sexual assaults, physical torture, and murder for being Christians. Stated that under Kim Jong Un’s rule religious freedom “is largely non-existent.”
“Religious beliefs are seen as a threat to the loyalty demanded by the Supreme Leader, so anyone holding these beliefs is severely persecuted,” the report said, noting: “Christians suffer significantly because of the anti-revolutionary and imperialist labels attached to them by the country’s leadership.”
A recent report revealed horrific form of persecution in the country while disclosing that there have been incidents when Christians are “being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled underfoot.”
