Rights Group Blasts WCC for Claiming Freedom Exists in N. Korea

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 Posted: 2:31:17AM HKT

In prison, he said he had to swallow a nail and was beaten with a burning wooden log. Despite the abuse, he still had to carry out hard labor daily on minimal amounts of food.

He escaped and arrived in South Korea in 2001. He now serves as the director of missionary works at NKGulag and is chairman of the Special Committee for North Korean Gulag Dismantlement.

Human rights experts, through interviews with defectors, have long reported that there is no religious freedom in the reclusive country.

All citizens are expected to worship current dictator Kim Jong-il and his deceased father. Every house in North Korea has a framed photo of Kim Jong-il and his statues and photos are located in public spaces throughout the country.

Being found a Christian is one of the worst crimes in the country. There are an estimated 400,000 Christians in North Korea who live under the constant threat of imprisonment, torture or public execution if authorities discover their Christian faith. Of the some 200,000 people detained in North Korea, there are an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians, according to Open Doors USA.

Open Doors, a group that works with persecuted Christians, has for seven straight years ranked North Korea as the worst persecutor of Christians in the world.

In his blog, VOM’s Penner denounced the WCC for showing “greater concern with supporting anti-western regimes than they are in uncovering and stating the entire truth and publicly standing together with their brothers and sisters who are paying the price for a faith they claim to believe in.”

The WCC delegation along with four North Korean church leaders, several dozen leaders from South Korea, and church leaders from 25 other countries are currently participating in a consultation held in Hong Kong on peace, reconciliation and the reunification of the Korean peninsula. The meeting ends Friday.

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Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter