News has only recently filtered through of three underground church leaders who were executed in North Korea in mid-May. Twenty other Christians were imprisoned at the same time.
AsiaNews reports that North Korean police conducted raids in the Pyongan province and arrested all twenty-three believers who had gathered together for worship. The leaders were immediately sentenced to death and executed soon after. The rest were sent to the infamous prison labour camp No. 15 in Yodok.
For the last eight years, Open Doors has ranked North Korea as the world’s worst persecutor of Christians.
There are approximately 400,000 Christians in North Korea who endure life under an oppressive regime which threatens imprisonment, torture or execution if their Christian faith is discovered.
All North Koreans are forced to follow a personality cult revolving around the worship of the current dictator, Kim Jong-il, and his deceased father. All other religious beliefs are banned. As a result, there are an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians are currently in prison labor camps because of their faith.
Due to the government's secretive nature and its reluctance to allow in foreigners, North Korea is today considered the world's most isolated country, thus it is difficult to know exactly what is happening beyond its borders.
(Image from file).