Persecuted and Forgotten

CASE STUDY WORST TREATMENT METED OUT TO NORTH KOREA’S CHRISTIAN DEFECTORS

Fears were expressed over the fate of defectors repatriated from China to North Korea in October 2023, who were found to have interacted with Christians while out of the country. All of them were sent to political prison camps, infamous for their harsh treatment of inmates. Most of the repatriated defectors were held in some sort of incarceration. Indeed there were reports of many of these serving reduced sentences. However, this was not the case for those who came into contact with Christianity – their incarceration in political camps effectively means a life sentence without parole. A source who spoke to Daily NK, who remained anonymous for security reasons, explained that North Korean state security departments base their interrogations of repatriated defectors on case files provided by the Chinese police. If the files mention anything related to religion, the defectors cannot avoid being sentenced to the camps, no matter what excuses or explanations they offer. North Korea is widely regarded as the worst country in the world in which to be a Christian: the country’s Songbun system categorizes citizens according to their loyalty to the state, and religious believers are automatically classified as “hostile” and subjected to acute persecution. While there are blanket human rights abuses and religious oppression throughout the country, affecting all walks of life and all faith groups, Christians and followers of the shamanistic religion Mugyo are particularly targeted according to the U.S. State Department.

Illyong Ju, a North Korean defector who is now an activist, reported that “it is said that they are forcing [the repatriated defectors] to confess in advance information about the remaining 1,000 people who have not yet been repatriated to North Korea.” He went on to state that, among the defectors, “there must be people who believe in Jesus. They will spread the gospel wherever they go. Just like Sister Kim, who works with me, evangelized to eight people while she was in a North Korean prison due to forced repatriation. Therefore, we have faith that the people who were forcibly repatriated to North Korea will become amazing people of God who rise up against the oppression of the North Korean regime.” According to the 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom released by the U.S. State Department, an estimated 50,000-70,000 North Koreans are in prison camps simply for being Christians. Sources: Seulkee Jang, “Repatriated N. Korean defectors who interacted with Christians sent to political prison camps,” Daily NK, 24 th April 2024 https://www.dailynk.com/english/ repatriated-north-korean-defectors-interacted-christians- sent-political-prison-camps/ [accessed 24/07/24] . “North Korea,” US State Dept 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on- international-religious-freedom/north-korea/ [accessed 25/07/24] . “The Unstoppable Gospel in North Korea,” Persecution.org, 11 th April 2023 https://www.persecution.org/2024/04/11/the- unstoppable-gospel-in-north-korea/ [accessed 24/07/24] .