North Korean evangelist executed for distributing ministry’s New Testaments

In North Korea, ruled by the enigmatic Kim Jong-il, “genuine religious freedom does not exist,” according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report. The constitution provides for freedom of religious belief, but the government severely restricts organized religious activity.
Reports of persecution of Christians are widespread in the country. Those who possess or distribute Bibles are subject to a minimum sentence of 13 years and a maximum sentence of death, according to World Bible Translation Center.
The ministry’s New Testaments were bound in a simple, one-color cover, but nonetheless were recognizable to North Korean authorities. The ministry is working with missionaries to put the Korean Scriptures in other formats that will be less recognizable.
“We really do take the safety of believers in other countries seriously,” Andersen said, adding that the ministry “is doing everything possible to protect the courageous women and men who are willing to put their lives on the line for God’s work.”
FOR MORE INFORMAITON, see www.wbtc.com.
Feb. 1, 2007