Eric Foley with Voice of the Martyrs Korea says, “this is a serious change that has major ramifications politically, certainly, but also with regard to ministry.”

North and South Korea at night (photo courtesy of NASA via Wikimedia Commons)

The historical context

The Korean War never officially ended because no peace treaty was signed. Both Koreas historically claimed authority over the entire peninsula in their constitutions. That allowed North Korean defectors to automatically become South Korean citizens and permitted ministries like Voice of the Martyrs Korea to conduct outreach into the North from the South.

“This division of Korea into two countries by North Korea raises the question of how South Korea will respond,” Foley explains.

If South Korea were to officially recognize North Korea as a separate nation, North Koreans could be refused entry into the South or required to complete a difficult citizenship process. Ministries might also be banned under South Korean law from doing work directed toward North Korea.

So far, South Korea has condemned the move as a major escalation because the new constitution does not clearly define North Korea’s borders but insists on the country’s right to defend them. Seoul still supports peaceful reunification but has increased security readiness.

How can it affect the ministry work?

Foley says a permanent two-state system could create serious ministry challenges: “It [might have] serious impacts on ministry, because our work at Voice of the Martyrs Korea is in support of underground North Korean Christians.”

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea E-Passport passport (photo courtesy of PRADO EU via Wikimedia Commons)

South Korea could eventually join North Korea in restricting or banning such ministry work if cooperation between the two governments increases.

The ministry also serves North Korean laborers overseas and women trafficked into China and forced into marriage. Foley says that outreach could eventually become illegal under South Korean law, not just Chinese and North Korean law.

At the moment, North Korea’s decision has not changed ministry operations. However, how the situation develops will depend on future diplomacy and South Korea’s response.

“So the change in the Constitution is really a matter of prayer for believers,” Foley says.

An estimated 100,000 underground Christians remain in North Korea. Pray Voice of the Martyrs Korea can continue supporting local believers through radio broadcasts, Bible distribution, and other outreach efforts based in South Korea.

“Pray that while it is still light, that the Lord will permit us to do the ministry that we do. We don’t take for granted any day,” Foley says.

Header photo: North Korean men reading news, Pyongyang, North Korea (photo courtesy of Random Institute via Unsplash).

That’s the update from persecution watchdog Voice of the Martyrs Korea, which has been advocating for the release of Missionary Park since her arrest on January 15, one week before she was scheduled to return home to Korea to retire at age 70. The missionary continues to be held at an immigration detention center.

According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley, authorities have also seized Missionary Park’s house in Russia and fined the missionary for overstaying her visa, despite the overstay being due to her detainment by Russian authorities. Pastor Foley calls these actions “serious violations of the law that demand remedy by the court and the action of Christians around the world on Missionary Park’s behalf.”

(Photo courtesy VOMK)

Voice of the Martyrs Korea has posted a petition online at https://vomkorea.com/en/petition-2026 calling for Missionary Park’s immediate release.

Pastor Foley says that so far more than 3,700 people in Korea have added their names to the petition, along with 750 people from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Africa, and Finland. Pastor Foley says he and Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley will deliver the petition to the Russian Embassy in Seoul once 5,000 signatures are secured.

“We need to let Russian authorities know that the world is watching to see how they will treat this 70-year old single woman who for more than 30 years said she was ‘married to Russia’, serving Russian people—especially children—with her whole heart, with not even a single complaint against her during that time,” says Pastor Foley. He says that more than a dozen people in Russia and Korea have stepped forward to provide official character references to submit to the court on Missionary Park’s behalf.

Pastor Foley says that the three charges against Missionary Park are all immigration-related and deal with assistance Missionary Park allegedly provided to Koreans to enter Russia. Two of the charges carry maximum 5-year sentences, and the third carries a maximum 7-year sentence, leading to a possible maximum 17-year sentence between the three charges.

He says that although the charges are explicitly immigration-related, Voice of the Martyrs Korea remains concerned that the motivation for the charges is religious.

“Voice of the Martyrs Korea obtained copies of a notification sent out in January by the Khabarovsk Department of Education to educational and other child care institutions in the area. The notification says in part, ‘In the capital of the region, a citizen of South Korea, an agent of an American organization Park Tae-Yeon’s Child Evangelism Fellowship set up a brainwashing machine for children, instilling values alien to our society and drawing them into the practice of the Korean-American form of Protestantism.’ The statement continues: ‘Russian children were set against the family and the state, and Park Tae-yong herself was presented to them as the main life guide. The camp was carefully conspiratorial.’ The notification concludes: ‘Park Tae-Yeon intended to take Russian children to South Korea for final zombification, but did not have time. Now Park Tae-Yeon has been detained, a criminal case has been opened for organizing illegal migration.’”

Park Tae-yong
(Photo courtesy VOMK)

Pastor Foley says that similar reports appeared in state-affiliated Russian media in late January.

“The criminal charges and media campaign against Missionary Park reflect the continued decline in religious freedom across the Russian Federation, particularly as it relates to Protestant Evangelicals,” says Pastor Foley. “The 2025 US Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Russia says, ‘Russia criminalizes the activities of several peaceful religious groups by designating them as “terrorist,” “extremist,” or “undesirable,” despite no evidence of their promotion of or participation in violence.’ That’s exactly what we see in the case of Missionary Park. Her activity hasn’t changed for more than 30 years. The only thing that has changed is that now Russian authorities calls people like her ‘extremists’, ‘brainwashers’, and ‘conspirators against Russia’, despite all common-sense evidence to the contrary.”

Since 2021, the United States has designated Russia as one of 12 ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ for religious freedom violations, along with countries including China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, and Cuba.

Individuals interested in signing the petition on behalf of Missionary Park can visit https://vomkorea.com/en/petition-2026.

Header image is a screenshot from a video of missionary Park’s arrest posted on the Биржа политиков – Хабаровский край (Political Marketplace – Khabarovsk Krai Telegram Channel)

Russia (MNN) — There’s encouraging news to share about a South Korean missionary detained in Russia — and many are calling it an answer to prayer.

Ms. Park Tae-Yeon, 69, has been held by Russian authorities since January 15. Earlier this week, Mission Network News reported on her arrest and an online petition calling for her release. That story was picked up by South Korean media, and quickly reached people who could help.

(Photo courtesy of VOM Korea)

Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea says those headlines mattered.

“We really believe it is [an] answer to prayer. The Voice of the Martyrs Korea has confirmed that Ms. Park met for 40 minutes with a representative from the Korean consulate on the afternoon of February 3.”

Park is also in a better living situation now. “We can confirm that today, Ms. Park was moved from the detention center to house arrest after submitting a pledge not to leave Russia until the end of the investigation,” Foley says.

Park was targeted at the same time as Child Evangelism Fellowship in a months-long investigation by Russian officials. The charges against her remain unchanged, which means the hard work is still ahead.

Foley says the situation highlights a broader pattern.

Russian flag (Photo courtesy of Dimmis Vart/Unsplash)

“This is an example of the increasing restrictions on religious liberty, especially for evangelicals in Russia. So let’s make sure we’re praying for both of those situations — one, the release of Ms. Park, but also that this is really the tip of a very big iceberg.”

The Voice of the Martyrs Korea continues to collect signatures for a petition calling for Park’s immediate release. The ministry will deliver the petition to the Russian embassy shortly after the Lunar New Year.

Access the petition here.

Please pray for Park’s encouragement, protection, and full release. Pray also for Christian ministries in Russia, asking God to guard believers and keep the Gospel moving forward despite growing pressure.

Header photo of Ms. Park Tae-Yeon, courtesy of VOM Korea.

North Korea recently blew up parts of roads and rail lines connecting to South Korea and built blockades.

“This is a real change in relationships between North and South Korea,” says Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

“Since the inception of the countries and the end of the Korean War, North Korea has always had, as its stated goal, the reunification of the Korean peninsula under North Korean leadership, the leadership of the Kim family.

North Korean flags (Photo courtesy of John Pavelka via Flickr under Creative Commons License: https://goo.gl/jxWHHm)

As evidenced by the severed cross-border ties, Foley says, “Now North Korea has changed that goal…. It no longer wants to reunite with South Korea. It says it’s a separate country, a separate people, an alien group, a puppet of the United States, and something that is outside of North Korea’s goals for the future.”

At the same time, North Korea has sent troops to Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine. With the potential for North Korean troops to come back with modern combat experience, it’s significantly straining relations with South Korea.

South Korea, for its part, has only supplied Ukraine with humanitarian aid but refrained from sending lethal weapons. However, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed that if North Korean troops go to fight in Ukraine in cooperation with Russia, South Korea would consider arming Ukraine with defensive weapons and even possibly offensive weapons.

Despite the rising pressure on the Korean Peninsula, Foley reminds believers of our Gospel mission: There are still souls at stake.

“The opportunities are still there for Gospel ministry today. Even though the North Korean government says you can’t reach our people, the Word of God says that the Word of God is not bound.”

VOM Korea sends 40,000 Bibles a year into North Korea. Today, miraculously, it’s estimated up to 8% of North Koreans have seen a Bible with their own eyes.

“God still finds ways to reach ordinary North Korean people through radio broadcasts like ours which air four times a day, and through the Bibles that we send by land, sea, and air.”

(Photo courtesy of Eric Foley/VOM Korea)

Various methods of secretly reaching North Koreans with the Gospel could face further criticism and censorship from South Korea out of fear of antagonizing their northern neighbors. South Korea had temporarily banned private citizens from launching balloons (including those carrying Scripture leaflets) over the border. The law was later struck down by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in September 2023.

“It’s important to remember that balloon launching is not a recent phenomenon in South Korea. It goes back to 1969 and in fact, even earlier,” says Foley.

“Various political parties have made efforts to ban balloon launching in an effort to appease North Korea. But no activity [by] the South Korean government…has so far resulted in the appeasement of North Korea.”

Foley asks, “Pray against a spirit of fear, both on the part of the ordinary people – the North and South Korean people – the governments of those two countries, as well as Christians.”

Ask God to open doors for the Gospel into North Korea, and to ultimately change hearts through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Roman Harak/Flickr under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Invading forces used mass sexual assault against women and girls of the region as a weapon of psychological warfare. Read more coverage about this issue from MNN here.

Eric Foley of the Voice of the Martyrs Korea works with Christians in Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. He says even as the nation declared a three-day mourning period to honor the combatants who lost their lives during the two-year violent war that ended in November 2022, life for survivors can be difficult.

Cultural attitudes of shame in the region make these horrific assaults even worse. He tells of one woman who was sexually assaulted in a hospital. “She contracted AIDS. So she has to go to a clinic for HIV medication. But every time she goes, she wraps herself with a shawl so that our face is hidden in our identity is concealed. She hasn’t even told her daughters that she has HIV.”

Foley says if a woman admits to sexual assault, the surrounding culture considers it to be shame upon her and her family. But Christians in the region, following Jesus’ example, push against this idea.

Pray these women would find hope and freedom in Jesus and the community of His people. “The ongoing horror for this group of people is unabated. Hebrews 13:3 says, ‘Remember those in prison, as though you are with them in prison.’ And in many ways, this whole region has become like a prison.”

Soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, a notoriously difficult place for Christians, have also been active in the Tigray war. Foley says, “There are Christians who have been kidnapped from the refugee camps that were raided and sent back to Eritrea. We need to pray for those Christians who are literally in prison.”

Header image is a representative photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Eric Foley with the Voice of the Martyrs Korea says since the great famine in the 1990s, those who have trusted in North Korea’s leadership have suffered greatly. “In other words, when they were relying upon the state alone for food, many of those people perished. So the North Korean people, since that point in time, learned about the importance of being able to provide for themselves.”

“Ironically, the Juche ideology, which is about self-reliance, is something that North Koreans have taken to heart in a different way.”

Some North Koreans rely on the black market to buy medicine or food. But Christians in the country have seen God work in amazing ways.

Healing

We often report how Christians in the Middle East see visions of Jesus telling them to connect with local believers. He often reaches North Korean Christians in a different way.

Foley says for decades, North Korean Christians have reported God performing acts of healing among them. “There are many people who have come to know the Lord in North Korea because of the fact that that either a Christian prayed for them, or they were taught to put their hands together and pray to heaven.”

Foley tells the story of a North Korean couple who experienced healing. The husband was a Christian, but the wife didn’t even know it yet.

She became sick, and he taught her to pray for healing. Foley says, “She thought was the craziest thing she ever heard. And she did it and she was healed. She asked her husband, what was that about? What does that mean? And he was able to tell her about the Lord.”

Ask God to continue healing people throughout North Korea.

Photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs USA.

Eric Foley works with many Ukrainian Christians and other Russian speakers through the Voice of the Martyrs Korea. He shares the Ukrainian pastor’s story below:

“His friends urged him to leave. The Lord brought to mind the story from Numbers about Moses and Aaron interceding and turning away God’s punishment of the people. And he prayed about it. He said, ‘Well, who would intercede for these people if I left?’ So he stayed.”

The 2022 invasion

When the invasion started in February 2022, Russian forces miraculously went around the pastor’s small village.

Amid a food shortage, the pastor and his wife scraped together enough flour to give away 30 loaves of bread. Foley says, “People were just moved that this small little house church would share everything they had. So, people started bringing flour. A farmer brought 60 liters of milk. Someone miraculously supplied yeast to the family.”

Over the next 10 days, they made about 160 loaves of bread a day.

“The government called them and said, ‘We understand you have bread. There is another small village nearby. Do you have any bread we can supply to them?’” Foley says.

A powerful witness

Protestants make up just a small minority in Eastern Ukraine. But this ministry made a very positive impression on the local people.

Foley says, “It reminds me of the Old Testament story of the widow and Elijah and how she gave what she had. Ukrainian Christians are really giving what little they have.”

Praise God for His new creation breaking into the war zone. Pray many Ukrainians would find hope in Jesus.

Header image depicts Russian bombardment of telecommunications antennas in Kyiv in March 2022. (Wikimedia Commons)

Pre-Covid, North Korea would allow a select few of its citizens to travel outside the country for work.

However, on a podcast with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, VOM Korea’s Eric Foley explained, “North Korea has closed its borders since the beginning of the Coronavirus. They haven’t allowed their workers to return.

“That means that for now three years, workers have been stuck in Mongolia, China, Southeast Asia, even Eastern Europe — bad for them on the one hand, good for them from an eternal perspective because it’s given us three years of time to share the Gospel with them and do discipleship and evangelism.”

VOM Korea’s radio broadcasts are produced by North Korean Underground University students. In the broadcasts, students share Scripture — both in its pure form and in North Korean-style dramas.
(Photo, caption courtesy of VOM Korea)

VOM Korea is seeing ministry growth and new Gospel doors are opening to reach North Koreans.

Foley says, “Many workers are at home so they’re more interested in listening to the Christian radio broadcasts. We had to add another radio broadcast in. The number of Bibles that we’ve distributed to North Koreans, wherever they’re found, has doubled each year of the pandemic.”

When North Korean workers find new faith in Christ and then go home, they are able to reach their own people with the Gospel.

North Korean Human Rights Database every year does studies on human rights and religious freedom, gathering information from inside North Korea, from North Koreans abroad, and from defectors.

“In the year 2000, they found that for all intents and purposes, 0% of North Koreans inside of North Korea had seen a Bible with their own eyes. It’s actually like .0006% at that time,” Foley says.

“But…as of December 2021, about 8% of North Koreans had seen a Bible with their own eyes. That’s a staggering number. That’s upwards of 2 million in a country where to see a Bible with your own eyes is to court execution.”

Whether in-country or abroad, ask the Holy Spirit to continue moving among North Koreans. Pray for new North Korean believers to grow deep roots of faith before they potentially go home to reach others with the Gospel.

Header photo of North Korean flags, courtesy of Micha Brandli via Unsplash.

The one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tomorrow. Some Christian denominations in Russia have been silent regarding the war in Ukraine. Now, The Voice of the Martyrs Canada reports that throughout the country, basic Christian activities have been investigated and punished as crimes.

“Believers paid fines, appealed their decisions, and in most cases lost their appeals,” says Dr. Hyun Sook Foley from their sister ministry, The Voice of the Martyrs Korea (VOMK). “It is a trend that The Voice of the Martyrs Korea is monitoring closely as 2023 begins.”

The report from VOMK gives several examples. In one case, Stefan Valery was convicted on November 8th. The charges centred around the “missionary activities” he conducted, along with his sharing of a publication titled, Do You Believe? – even though that document was legally printed by a registered media company.

(Photo courtesy of Nikolay Vorobyev via Unsplash)

The activities he was convicted of include holding worship services, organizing concerts, and speaking with people who were not members of his church.

Similar charges were also laid against Vladimir Popov in Armavir and Vladimir Kharchenko in Sochi, who were likewise charged with conducting missionary activities in 2021. In February 2022, Stepan Prokopovich was questioned about the activities of his church in Ulyanovsk, including its relations with those belonging to other faith groups.

Ultimately, the court instituted a ban on all activities of his church.

These cases represent just a few of the many believers who were investigated and convicted for alleged violation of the federal law on “Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations.” In each case, the Christians faced fines of 5,000 rubles (about $95 CAD) and, in some instances, were ordered to cease all church activities.

The law that was used to justify the charges, along with the Russian Constitution, specifically forbids restrictions on the freedom of conscience, religion or religious association – including the teaching and disseminating of religious beliefs.

The practise of religious freedom, while severely restricted under the USSR, significantly improved in the years that followed. However, in recent years, the government has begun to oppress various religious groups under the guise of combatting extremism.

A list of previously published reports addressing the suppression of Christianity in Russia can be reviewed at VOMCanada.com/russia-reports.

Prayerfully uphold Christian ministries in Russia that are encountering increased oppression from governing officials, asking God to provide all those affiliated with these ministries spiritual guidance, strength and perseverance.

Pray that Russia’s governmental leaders would realize the need to value and uphold freedom of religion for people of all faiths, and thus cease their harassment against the country’s various religious groups.

May the Lord work powerfully in the hearts of those in Russia who oppose the message of the Gospel, leading them to eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Pavel Neznanov via Unsplash.

The embattled Tigray region faces an assault from the Ethiopian military, as well as bordering Eritrea. The northern neighbor held a full mobilization of fighting men up to age 55.

Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea says, “What you’ll see now through people’s cell phone videos and in citizen journalism is large-scale troop movement and tank movement into the area. The Tigray Christians are puzzled as to why the international community is, at this point, still expressing concern but not taking any action.”

Tigray Christians

Evangelical Christians in the Tigray region have to be careful since some neighbors view them with suspicion. The president of Ethiopia, who is organizing the invasion, is also an evangelical Christian. Foley says, “So evangelical Christians, which are just a very small portion of the Tigray population, feel stuck at the level of raising their voice to be heard, both internationally and even locally.”

But their work continues. Foley says, “We were receiving a report from a Christian doctor who is the director at one of the local hospitals. He just very matter-of-factly said, ‘We have no food to feed our patients; we have no medicine to give our patients.’”

“He simply goes about his work by continuing to show up.”

VOM Korea continues to support Christians from the Tigray region, as well as Eritrea. Many Eritrean Christians remain in prison under a harsh government many have called the “North Korea of Africa.”

Foley shares another testimony from a widow in the region. “She said to us, ‘It wasn’t just the money you sent. It was the day that it came, and the testimony it made to my neighbors that God has not forgotten me.’”

Pray for peace in Ethiopia.

The header photo shows Tigrayan Christians. (Photo courtesy of the Voice of the Martyrs Korea)