God is hard at work
even in North Korea, considered as the number one country where Christians are
most persecuted.The mainly atheist secretive nation of 24.5 million people is
one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule, according to a
BBC country profile. Even in this grim, forbidding land, people who believe and
follow Christ continue to endure more than 70 years of persecution, the Gospel
Herald reports. Christian persecution in the country reportedly became intense
after the end of the Second World War in 1945. The government led by its
"Great Leader" Kim Il-sung sought to remove all traces of Christianity
by conducting a massive crackdown against Christians. In the 1970s, the
government announced Christians no longer exist in the country. However, a
report released last month by the Christian Solidarity Worldwide said there are
thousands of Christians in the country, some of them suffering from extremely
harsh torture in labour camps. In some cases, the report said, Christian
prisoners are hung on a cross over a fire, and at times crushed under a
steamroller. And yet, in spite of all this, Christians remain. In fact, their
community is growing, according to an article from the Lausanne Global
Analysis.The article notes that since 1995, the North Korean government has
allowed about 480 foreign organisations to work in the country, and 70 of these
are Christian, including Samaritan's Purse and World Vision.The Lausanne Global
Analysis says a large part of the North Korean population centres been exposed
to Christian work, detailing that Christian groups are in 85 of the 145
counties and 23 of the 27 cities in the country.Even more surprising was the
revelation that the North Korean government is extending tolerance toward these
Christian groups since the people leading these groups are reportedly perceived
to be people of integrity, aside from the benefits they give to the country.
According to a report in ChristianToday.