April 28, 2008

Refugees describe criminalization of faith; execution possible for owning Bible.

BANGKOK – Refugee testimonies in a report released this month by a U.S. government body confirm severe persecution of Christians throughout North Korea.

In the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) report, refugees said that Christianity remained a key factor in the interrogation of people repatriated from China to North Korea. Border guards reserved the harshest punishment for those who admitted having any contact with Chinese or South Korean Christians.

The report, released April 15, found that consequences are harsh for those found violating state policies on religion.

“For example, recently many North Korean refugees have Bibles with them when they are repatriated,” one refugee said. “In North Korea you can get away with murder if you have good connections. However, if you get caught carrying a Bible, there is no way to save your life.”

Most of the refugees interviewed said they had little exposure to religious activity before seeking asylum in China, although a few told stories of grandparents hiding a Bible or other religious literature – adding that punishment for owning a Bible could include execution and the imprisonment of “three generations” of the owner’s family.

“Worshiping God or [contact with foreign religious groups or leaders] would make one a political criminal,” another refugee confirmed. “The government believes that the Christian church is an anti-national organization.”

Yet another stated categorically, “There is no freedom of belief or religion … [We are taught] that if one is involved in religion, one cannot survive.”

Former security agents interviewed for the report said authorities told them that U.S. or South Korean intelligence agencies distributed Bibles as part of a master plan to destabilize North Korea.

Based on interviews with North Korean refugees who have sought asylum in South Korea, the report confirms that some religious practices – of Christianity, Buddhism and traditional folk religion – have survived the repression of both Kim Il Sung and his son and successor, Kim Jong Il. 

“The report provides evidence that the cult of personality surrounding Kim Jong Il and his family remains strong, and that Kim Jong Il’s regime perceives any new religious activity as a security threat to be combated at all costs,” according to a USCIRF statement. “As a result, stringent security measures have been enacted to stop the spread of religion, mostly Protestantism, through cross-border contacts with China.”

Refugees interviewed for the report also confirmed that the few official churches in Pyongyang were “sham” churches, and that articles in the North Korean constitution guaranteeing religious freedom were included solely for the benefit of an international audience.