A persecution watchdog is sounding the alarm about the grim and dire conditions for Christians inside North Korea.
The hermit nation has long been one of the most diabolical Christian persecutors, but a new report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, “North Korea: We Cannot Look Away,” underscores the true gravity of the deteriorating conditions inside the country.
The document commemorates the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry report that previously explored the dangerous state of affairs inside North Korea.
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“Ten years on from the publication of the COI’s report, CSW finds that the Kim regime has made no effort to uphold international human rights standards and has taken no steps to participate as an equal and active member of the international community,” a statement from CSW reads. “The situation of human rights in the country remains unchanged at best and may even have deteriorated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased prioritization of weapons testing and development, the introduction of new domestic legislation, and the continued forced repatriation of North Korean refugees from neighboring China.”
David Simpson, an East Asian advocate for CSW who uses a pseudonym for safety purposes, reiterated to CBN News the worsening state of affairs inside North Korea. He said the original UN report from 10 years ago was important in that it highlighted the human rights atrocities being perpetuated by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and other officials.
“The 2014 report showed that we don’t only have to worry about the Kim regime’s nuclear capacity,” Simpson said. “The true cost of the Kim regime’s totalitarian rule is the people of North Korea and how they are affected.”
Under Kim, who came to power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011, North Korea’s isolation has only intensified. While some previous cooperation existed between South and North Korea, even that modicum of collaboration has evaporated.
“There was a factory right on the border with North and South Korea that was owned by South Koreans, and North Koreans were able to come and work there and gain a wage,” Simpson said. “There was a communications tower where they had a direct cable to Seoul, but Kim Jong Un closed that factory, and he actually blew up that tower in a stunt to show how ruthlessly he intends to come down on religious freedom, and all freedom of expressions, freedom of newspaper, and freedom of any form of expression.”
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Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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