North Korea (MNN)–Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the U-S next week is an opportune time for President George Bush to address religious rights issues.
Open Doors is partnering with ‘Freedom Week’ (April 22-30). It’s a campaign to raise awareness for the persecuted church in North Korea.
What’s the connection? Open Doors’ Dr. Carl Moeller explains, “China holds the key to freedom in North Korea…China has a tremendous amount of leverage on North Korea, first of all, because of geography but also because of economic and political support.”
For the fourth year in a row, Open Doors’ 2006 World Watch List ranked North Korea as the worst violator of religious rights in the world. Christianity is observed as one of the greatest threats to the regime’s power, and many of the believers arrested are existing in cocentration camp-like conditions.
During North Korea Freedom Week, Open Doors USA is partnering with North Korea Freedom Coalition (NKFC) members to focus on atrocities in North Korea, increase awareness of the conditions in that communist country and raise up prayers on behalf of those being abused and disenfranchised.
As to the effect of the repression, Moeller says it has only served to strengthen the church. “There are hundreds of Christians who flee North Korea and are touched by the Lord while in China to go back into North Korea, underground, smuggle themselves back into North Korea, to minister to the persecuted church there.”
To get your church or group involved in North Korea Freedom Week, contact Open Doors USA using their information listed below.
