BP News | September 30, 2019
It is widely understood that there is virtually no such thing as religious freedom in North Korea.
No less than 75 percent of North Koreans who are persecuted die for their faith, according to North Korean defectors.
ChristianDaily.com reports that the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) interviewed 11,730 North Korean defectors who had escaped to South Korea.
North Korea is number one on Open Doors World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is the worst, a position it has maintained for 18 years.
Practicing any religion that is not sanctioned by the government is punishable by death in North Korea. In fact, 100 percent of all defectors interviewed said there is zero religious freedom in the country.
Additionally, 98 percent of defectors said the only facilities for worship are located in Pyongyang and are simply there as a display for tourists.
The defectors also said that 80 percent of those taken into custody by the state disappear and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Christian persecution ministries have advocated for action to be taken to investigate the human rights abuses perpetrated by North Korea.
Last month, the ministry Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) released a report expressing deep concern over the persecution many face in North Korea. CSW advocated for launching a United Nations Commission on Inquiry to further investigate the country’s crimes, according to Christian Headlines.