May 2013

North Korea

Well, by now, I think most of you will have seen that things are cooling down considerably here on the Korean Peninsula. The celebration of Great Sun Day in North Korea--Kim Il Sung's birthday on April 15th--went off in a rather subdued manner. Many people were expecting a major missile launch to coincide with the holiday but nothing like that happened. Since then rhetoric in the North has been a bit toned down as well. Of course, they may well decide to launch one or more test missiles whenever they like so it could happen even as this news is going out. However, I personally believe that Kim Jong Eun is deliberately backing down from his most belligerent stance…

Yet while all this is going on we continue to be concerned about and pray for Kenneth Bae. The latest development is that he is slated to be tried before North Korea’s supreme court for plotting to overthrow the government. Many North Korea watchers find the charges against him to be very cloudy and are wondering what the North is really up to…

So, do continue to pray for the situation in the North. We are not particularly concerned about immanent war, but we are concerned about the people who are affected by all that is happening.

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

April 2013

North Korea

Please lift up in prayer one whose situation is extremely difficult. That is Kenneth Jun-Ho Bae whom we have mentioned before.  He is under arrest in North Korea and is sentenced to death for espionage.  He is a tour operator based in California and a Christian who was taken as he was leaving North Korea with his tour. It is unlikely that his sentence will be carried out and the North may try to use him as a pawn but there is no recent news so we do not know more about his situation. I am sure, though, that it is very difficult for him. Please keep him in your prayers.

The political situation is very troubling but I do not believe that Kim Jong Un is the least interested in attacking either the United States or South Korea and no one is about to attack him, at least not under the present circumstances.  Even though he declares a "state of war", this has been the technical situation all along. The fighting ended in 1953 with a truce, not a peace treaty.  The North has been trying to get a treaty through the years but the young leader is making it more difficult rather than easier for himself.  The most troubling thing to me and to others is that he does not have either his father's or his grandfather's experience in international or domestic politics.  He is young and very inexperienced. I also wonder if he has the intelligence of either Kim Jong Il or Kim Il Sung, both of whom were very intelligent men with great skill at knowing how far to push and get what they want and when to back off.  The young leader seems at times to be almost a victim of his own rhetoric.  My greatest concern is that he has no one who will or can tell him the truth and that he will do something to trigger an accidental war that most likely be his complete undoing.  

The people of North Korea have been under great strain for a number of weeks now as he has ratcheted up the tension and put the whole country on top alert status. This is taking a great toll on the people as they are forced to participate in drills that take them away from earning their own living while not providing them with anything else. The countryside is also being devastated as military units wipe out young forests and steal for their own food.  In the meantime, the soldiers themselves are having a rough time of it as they are forced to do things for which they received not training--like driving trucks. Because of the lack of fuel, drivers never have any experience in driving, sometimes for the whole duration of their time in the military, and the trucks have straw in the tires for lack of new ones. They often use trucks converted to burn wood gas. These pour out clouds of smoke and can only move at about 20 miles per hour or so.  One person even quipped that they'd mobilize faster using ox carts. The people are complaining more and more as the situation deteriorates. The Leader is doing all of this, it seems, to secure his position internally--with the forlorn hope of getting the U.S. to negotiate with him directly. He well may go too far and stir up more trouble for himself.

What is even more absurd is that North Korea has people in China trying to drum up tourist business and who are assuring everyone that there is no danger of war.

For anyone who is interested in following things inside North Korea, I recommend www.dailynk.com. The website opens in Korean but there is a link to the English version as well as Chinese and Japanese pages. Most of the links above are to articles here. Korean versions of most of them can also be found on the site.

All in all the situation is, in many ways, more pathetic then dangerous but danger cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, all of this is taking a great toll on the ordinary people of North Korea.  Keep them in your prayers and do pray that Kim Jong Un will back down and the situation stabilize.

From: Ben Torrey (bentorrey@thefourthriver.org)

March 2013

North Korea Threat Real, South Retaliation Could Set Stage for Hot War

After just over one year in power, North North Korea’s novice leader, 30-year old Kim Jong Un, has dashed hopes that he will change course from the brinkmanship-style policies pursued by his late father, Kim Jong Il. For the first time in decades, U.S. intelligence and defense analysts believe the threat of an outbreak of significant hostilities on the Korean peninsula is a distinct possibility. How would a potential conflict play out? While there is little doubt that North Korea would lose, the consequences for the region would be dire, with casualties potentially in the hundreds of thousands, if not more.

From Lignet.com

March 2013

Pray for Christians in Prison Camps

We continue to remember Kenneth Jun-Ho Bae who is under arrest and sentenced to death in North Korea. Here is a FaceBook page dedicated to him.

www.facebook.com/RememberKenBaePrisonerInNorthKorea?ref=bf

As we think of Ken Bae, we also remember the growing number of Christians in North Korea, many of whom are in prison camps. Estimates vary as to the number of underground believers in North Korea and the number suffering in prison camps. Sources such as Radio Free Asia (http://www.rfa.org/english/), Cornerstone USA (http://cornerstoneusa.org/), and Open Doors (http://www.opendoorsuk.org/) indicate that there may be between 200,000 and 400,000 secret believers with perhaps 20,000 or so meeting together in small groups of 3 to 5 people for regular prayer and worship. There may be some 70,000 Christians suffering in the labor camps with others suffering severe persecution and death outside the camps. An Open Doors spokesman stated that they believe two Christians were executed earlier this year. In spite of the persecution, it does appear that the number of believers in the country is increasing as defectors who came to faith while in China are returning and sharing the Gospel with family, friends, and others. Some North Koreans travel back and forth to China as traders so that they are able to bring in Bibles and other resources to share the Gospel inside. This is a great peril to their lives.

Life for the ordinary North Korean is not easy either especially as controls under Kim Jong Un increase as does inflation while heavier burdens are being imposed on people to celebrate the great accomplishments like the recent rocket launch and nuclear tests about which more and more people express confusion or complaints. All of this increases the level of tension both domestically and internationally. At the same time, the government is giving out so many awards to people for their participation in the tests that being a "Hero of the Republic" is no longer anything special. There are also reports that North Korean generals and other high officers are getting US dollar cash cards every month to be used any way they want.

While all of this is going on, the central government has issued a series of contradictory orders concerning private farm plots that have farmers confused and fearful.

All of this adds up to a lot of things to pray for.

Ben Torry,

Director, The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

Please keep our longsuffering North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ in frequent prayer. Let’s agree that the powers of darkness that are controlling Kim Jong-un and his government be bound and driven to the feet of Jesus so the nation can be set free from both its human and spiritual oppression.

February 2013

North Korea

The old ways continue to manifest themselves as pressure mounts for people to contribute to the nation's needs including a New Year's day proclamation about required contributions of manure and scrap metal. There has also been an increase in checkpoints which is just another way to put money in the pockets of officials. It is also fairly widely known that North Korea has been using illicit production of methamphetamines for sale abroad as a major source of foreign currency. This has been backfiring as an increasing number of North Koreans have been taking the drug. The number of addicts continues to increase as well as sellers even as arrests increase. There are also signs that labor camps are being expanded in the North.

In His Name,

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

January 2013

The Situation in the North

We would like to start off by calling attention to the arrest and detention of Kenneth Bae (Korean name: Pae Jun Ho), a US citizen and resident of Los Angeles. As you can see from the links in the sentence, Kenneth Bae was the owner of Nations Tours in Los Angeles. He was apparently arrested when North Korean authorities found compromising material on the computer of a person on one of his tours. Please pray that he be safe from harm while in custody and for his speedy release.

This past December 17th marked the first anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which had been closed earlier in the year for renovation, was opened to the public again on that date to display the embalmed body of the dead leader. Here is an article with a number of pictures. This is part of the ongoing effort to memorialize Kim Jong Il in the same manner as his father Kim Il Sung and to establish the succession of his son.

As experts reflect back on this first year of Kim Jong Un's rule, they agree that he is bringing in changes--some very remarkable--but commentators differ as to what they mean. Andrei Lankov (Russian historian and North Korea specialist) discusses the great changes that have occurred in the military in this piece on missing generals. Here is one analyst who does not think that Kim Jong Un will be able to hold onto power for very long while another one here sees steps that he has been taking to establish his rule. At the same time, the new leader is beefing up security around himself and in Pyongyang. There is also evidence that people are taking greater liberties in their discussion of Kim Jong Un then when his father ruled.  He has acquired a new nick name, "General Soimae" after a popular cartoon figure, "The Boy General."

Of course the big news in both South and North Korea is the election of Park Geun Hye as South Korea's new president to take office in February. The election of a woman has astounded the people of the North. The northern government made a speedy but terse announcement not referring to her by name. People everywhere are wondering what her election will mean for the future of North-South relationships as she is from the same, conservative Saenuri party as the current president. She has also visited North Korea on her own. While her father, the former military dictator of South Korea, Park Chung Hee, was in power in the 1960s and 1970s, he was the first South Korean leader to engage the North. There are many firsts related to her election.

In addition to the returning Obama administration in the United States and Park Geun Hye's election in South Korea, China also has a new president, Xi Jinping, who will take office in March. With these new administrations in three of the nations around North Korea, we can certainly look towards significant developments in this new year. Please keep this whole Northeast Asian region in your prayers.

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

December 2012

North Korea

The Situation in the North

Kim Jong Un's policies that seem to be aimed at creating a more modern and appealing North Korea continue to draw the ire of the ordinary people leading to some new crack downs on complaints. At the same time, there are steady efforts to build the personality cult of the new leader through, among other things, postage stamps, new mosaics (also leading to complaints) and new Kim Jong Un badges. There is also a new effort to court international approval through such things as celebrating Mother's Day for the first time in many years. At the same time the food situation continues to be difficult, particularly as soldiers take to thievery from the fields to gain money of their own.

The government continues to struggle to prevent the flow of information into the country and people out. A new ban on travel to China is in force for the period leading up to the first anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. In spite of these efforts, information does continue to get in.  

It will be a while yet before we are really able to get a sense of the direction in which the new government is taking the country even though it has been a year now since Kim Jong Il died on December 17th of last year. At the same time there are those who continue to do humanitarian work--as Christians--and run businesses--as Christians--in North Korea with little change from before.

We continue to pray that Kim Jong Un will bring in new economic policies that truly benefit the people and provide for more openness in real ways. Join us in these prayers.

In His Name,

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

November 2012

North Korea

While Kim Jong Un seems to be trying to present himself as a popular figure sporting his attractive, young (and possibly pregnant) wife and concerned with the economy, the measures that he has been enacting have not been popular.  As he has been ignoring the practical advice of his farm experts internal criticism has increased. In response to a shocking front line defection in which a North Korean soldier killed two of his senior officers there has been a major indoctrination effort and crackdown on sources of "Western corruption." At the same time, there has been an ongoing effort to tighten border security resulting in fewer people being able to flee the country. For those who do manage to escape and make it to South Korea, life is harsh especially for the women. Most defectors also have to spend time in very difficult conditions in detention centers in Thailand.

Through all of this, Kim Jong Un continues to consolidate power by replacing many of the old guard with his own picks. In his effort to secure his rule and North Korea's position in the world, it is as unlikely that he will surrender his nuclear arms program as that his reform programs will bring prosperity.

We need to continue to pray for the people of North Korea and for North Korea's impact on the world situation.  

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

October 2012

North Korea

Things continue to be very difficult in North Korea.  In fact, so many things are causing problems from government policy to the weather that people are speaking out and complaining as never before. A recent trip to China by Jang Sung Thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle and right hand man, far from bring better economic news (as had been hoped) has resulted in major increases in the exchange rate as people hoard Chinese money.  Even the national security forces are having a hard time feeding themselves and the situation in North Korea's bread basket region of Hwanghae Do is particularly dire as flooding followed drought. Many news reports casually mention people starving to death.  To make matters worse, Kim Jong Un's new economic measures include seizing private fields that people were allowed to create following the famines of the late '90s.  It is these private fields attached to homes and on steep hillsides that have actually provided a significant amount of food for the overall economy in recent years.  Farmers are very upset.  The government's response to all this is to put in place price controls that will only aggravate the situation and prove ineffective.  At the same time, the Supreme People's Assembly meets and makes some decisions about compulsory education but not a word about the economy.  What the government is doing is selling gold from its reserves to raise cash needed to replace that spent on the Kim Il Sung 100th anniversary celebrations and failed missile launch.  In the face of growing famine and flood devastation, South Korea offered aid but it was rejected as not what was wanted.

The reality is such that defections have been increasing including a single group of twenty who fled in September.  The number of street kids or kkotjebi (swallows) as they are called, is increasing as well. Many of these homeless children cross the border and make their way eventually to refugee camps. There are some 400 North Korean kids without parents in South Korea.  Pray especially for these children.  They need food, health care, stability and a safe place to grow up.  They need homes.

The annual Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue was just held in China.  North Korea and its nuclear program were the main topic of discussion.  This is an ongoing attempt to get world leaders discussing real issues in the region.  We pray that these meetings and others like them bear positive fruit.

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

Journalist: US Policy Must Aim to End North Korean Regime


Melanie Kirkpatrick, former deputy editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal and author of the new book Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia’s Underground Railroad, says the United States isn’t taking a tough enough stance on North Korea. “We can’t work with them and we shouldn’t pretend that we can,” she told LIGNET managing editor Fred Fleitz this week in a televised interview. Official U.S. policy, she says, should be “the downfall of the Kim family regime” and the unification of the Koreas. Also, she says, the United States should publicly denounce China for its policy of arresting North Korean refugees and sending them back to face life in prison, or worse.


From: LIGNET ‪<newsmax@reply.newsmax.com>‬

Let’s continue to agree in prayer for a new day for North Korea and for His liberation of its longsuffering people and especially its children. Pray for the reunification of the two Koreas.

September 2012

North Korea

North Korea has been hit by flooding again with a lot of devastation and hardship. The South Korean Red Cross has been providing some relief along with other organizations, but it is still very difficult. To make things more complicated, there are major changes occurring in the economy from wages replacing food distribution in some places to distribution centers selling food. There is also serious inflation in relation to Chinese currency and the price of rice. At the same time, the North Korean central bank has been trying very hard to gather foreign currency, even to selling rice for hard currency.

While we do see economic reforms under way, it is a very difficult time. We can probably expect to see more changes as the new leadership continues to establish itself and look for ways to improve the situation. Keep North Korea in your prayers as it goes through all these changes.

Ben Torrey

July 2012

North Korea Update

“There are both some hopeful things coming out of the North and the ongoing difficulties...

On a positive note, it seems that China is seeking to do more in the way of investment in North Korea which will help the economic situation some… We are also beginning to see some hopeful signs that Kim Jong Un may really be interested in opening up to other foreign investment and creating a more open business environment. If he does follow through on this, it could mean not only a better life for the people but also gradual lessening of repression and restriction as happened in China (although China still has a long way to go.)

On the negative side: The country has beefed up their identity card system to make it easier to control people, especially those who have been involved with activities that the government frowns on. Four North Koreans returned from China were recently executed and a number more put into prison camps.

We also have the increasingly serious drought situation in the North, especially in the main bread basket area of Hwanghae Do where farmers have just about given up on this summer's crops and beggars have been dying of starvation. The drought has even affected the capital where many residents are having difficulty getting water.

It has not been easy for people in China and elsewhere seeking to help those leaving NK in search of food or a better life. Four South Korean activists have been detained in China for a few months now although there are hopeful signs that they may be released. An activist has also recently been arrested in Vietnam as well.

The people of North Korea need your prayers.  Please keep praying.”

Ben Torrey,

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

April 2012

GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR NORTH KOREA

Open Doors invites Christians around the world to take up their position and pray and fast for North Korea on April 15th 2012.

The deceased leader Kim Jong-Il promised his citizens that North Korea would be a strong and prosperous nation in 2012, but his son, Kim Jong-Un, inherited a country where between two and three million people have died of hunger. Most North Koreans are chronically malnourished, unemployed and living miles below the poverty line. Society is gripped by fear. The police have informants everywhere and house raids are not uncommon. More than 1% of the total population lives in Nazi-like labour camps, among them are many Christians.

Because of this gruesome injustice Open Doors calls on Christians worldwide to participate in a global day of prayer and fasting on Kim Il-Sung’s birthday, April 15. According to the US Department of State, North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. Its active duty military force is estimated to number 1.2 million. “But as God’s children we are part of His army and His army far outnumbers any force on earth,” states Open Doors. “The Lord has given us a most effective weapon in the fight against the forces of spiritual darkness – prayer. So on April 15th we would like to fight on behalf of our brothers and sisters in North Korea by fasting and lifting them up in prayer and asking the Lord to intervene in this nation.”

www.opendoors.org.za/eng/pray/global_day_prayer_fasting_north_korea/

Taken from (info@joelnews.org)

North Korean Refugees – How Far Would You Go for Your Freedom?

Would you attempt a dangerous river crossing in the middle of the night? Could you take the risk of bribing a border guard to get to a safe country, knowing there’s a chance they would let you cross and then hand you over to the authorities?

For thousands of North Koreans, many take these dangerous options to escape life under the grip of one of the world’s most brutal and repressive regimes.

There are an estimated 100,000 North Korean refugees in China, who have escaped, risking their lives to reach a place of safety in South Korea. But many of them are trapped in China and at risk of being sent back to North Korea. China’s treatment of these refugees is appalling.  They routinely send them back across the border, to face interrogation, torture, imprisonment and even execution when they arrive.

http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/country.asp?s=gi&urn=North_Korea

March 2012

A Christian organization is working on a visit North Korea in May, with the hope this will lead to a much more substantive engagement in the coming years. They are envisioning a major humanitarian aid project.

January 2012

Another North Korea Protest Being Planned for January 27

Hundreds of praying protestors took part in a series of demonstrations for human rights and the liberation of North Korea that were held in major cities on December 9. That day was the 63^rd anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which North Korea acceded in 1989.

In addition, Kim Jong Il, one of the most evil, oppressive dictators in the world, died suddenly on December 17 and has been replaced by his son, Kim Jong Un as the new president. Let’s be in prayer for North Korea as this new regime begins to rule that Kim and his officials will be open to dialogue with South Korea and the other nations in the Six Party Talks. Pray that the transformation we have all been asking God for will happen and that it will lead to the liberation of North Korea and the reunification of North and South. Pray especially for the food aid to reach those at risk of starvation and for the closing down of the prison camps in which hundreds of thousands of men, women and children continue to suffer slave labor, summary execution, and horrific tortures at the whim of their captors.

For Immediate Release

January 27^th, 2012 – Worldwide General Strike and Call to Mass Demonstrations for the North Korean Liberation and Human Rights

Seoul, Dec. 27, 2011 – January 27^th marks the 67^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest Nazi death camp where an estimated 1.1 million innocent men, women and children were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated this date as an annual international day of commemoration to remember the victims of Nazism and the sacred promise of “Never Again”. (For more information on the important meaning and significance of this date, read: http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/).

The Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea, a nonpartisan coalition consisting of human rights activists and groups from around the world, is calling for an international general strike on this date to protest against genocide and crimes against humanity in North Korea.

Genocide and Crimes against Humanity in North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) runs a network of concentration camps where an estimated 1 million innocents have been murdered in silence, and 250,000 political prisoners, one-third of them children, are currently being forced to perform slave labor on starvation rations, are subject to systematic rape and torture, biological and chemical weapon experimentation, and summary execution.

North Korea is actively targeting for destruction every group protected under the U.N. Genocide Convention, through its decades-long policy of killing the half-Chinese babies of North Korean women forcibly repatriated by China (constituting genocide on national, ethnical and racial grounds), and its systematic annihilation of its indigenous religious population and their families (genocide on religious grounds). The regime’s treatment of political prisoners and its exploitative and discriminatory food policy which is responsible for the deaths of several million North Koreans constitutes crimes against humanity as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

At the historic UN World Summit in 2005, heads of state and government leaders from around the world committed to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. According to the Responsibility to Protect principle, the world has a duty to intervene to stop mass atrocity crimes first by 'appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian, and other peaceful means' and then by force, if necessary.

North Korea, as a genocidaire of the first order, is in the category of state perpetrator and is manifestly demonstrating this failure to protect. It is high time for the international community to act in North Korea.

LETTER OF DEMANDS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY:

To the Leaders of Korea, America, China, Russia, Japan, the United Nations and the Entire International Community,

We Refuse to Allow the North Korean Genocide to Continue Any Longer. Over 4,000,000 Innocent North Koreans have been Murdered through Starvation by the DPRK regime since 1995, and an estimated 1,000,000 North Koreans have been Murdered as a result of Slave Labor, Rape, Torture, Starvation and Execution in North Korea’s Political Concentration Camps. The Very Existence of these Concentration Camps makes the North Korean State Illegal, Illegitimate, and Criminal, and Demands the Immediate Intervention of the International Community.

Our Demands, based upon the foundation of International Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are as follows:

1) The Immediate and Total Liberation of All North Korean Political Concentration Camps

2) Compensation and Re-imbursement to All North Korean Victims of Slavery, Starvation, Torture, All Concentration Camp Survivors and Their Families for Immeasurable Loss and Suffering

3) The Immediate Stepping Down from Power of the DPRK Leadership

4) Prosecution of Kim Yong-nam, Chang Sung-taek and All Individuals Responsible for Commissioning or Carrying Out Acts of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

5) Through the Guidance and Oversight of a Coalition of North Korean Refugee Leaders and Human Rights Activists, in Partnership with the Republic of Korea and the International Community, WE DEMAND THE LIBERATION AND REBUILDING OF NORTH KOREA BASED UPON THE FOUNDATION OF ENSURING AND GUARANTEEING WITHOUT FAIL THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SAFETY OF EVERY NORTH KOREAN INDIVIDUAL ACCORDING TO THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, WHICH WAS COMPOSED TO PREVENT THE ATROCITIES OF NAZI GERMANY FROM EVER OCCURRING AGAIN. WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, HAVE ALL FAILED TO KEEP OUR PROMISE AND UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND MOST MISERABLY IN THE CASE OF NORTH KOREA.

Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea (Nonpartisan)

Please refer to:

"Responsibility to Protect in North Korea": http://hir.harvard.edu/responsibility-to-protect-in-north-korea

"North Korea and the Genocide Convention": http://hir.harvard.edu/north-korea-and-the-genocide-movement

Documentary Evidence of Genocide in North Korea: http://www.watch-documentaries.com/children-of-the-secret-state

Documentary Evidence of Concentration Camps, Gas Chambers, Chemical and Biological Weapon Experimentation on Human Beings in North Korea:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7096673757347175289

Documentary - Public Execution in North Korea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAQE7kDwPZY

Contact: http://www.stopnkgenocide.com, r2pnorthkorea@gmail.com

Facebook: Stop Genocide in North Korea

http://www.facebook.com/groups/stopnkgenocide/

Please do all you can to mobilize others and arrange a prayerful protest outside any North Korean diplomatic office in your nation or Chinese embassy or consulate. China is complicit in all the horrific treatment of people in North Korea and sends back refugees to certain enslavement in the prison camps or death. It is important that pressure also be put on China since it provides up to 80% of the resources for the regime in Pyongyang. Pray for the January 27 demonstration to be a significantly large one within South Korea and other nations and especially that it will catch the notice of the international community, moving them to take action to safeguard human rights in North Korea.

Kim Jong-Un, son of late North Korean leader Jim Jong-Il, accompanied by military officers, visiting the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where his father's body lies in state, in Pyongyang.

December 2011

December 9th, 2011 - Worldwide Demonstration Protesting Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea

This is an international call to protest on December 9th, 2011, 63rd anniversary of the United Nations Genocide Convention which North Korea is violating in every possible way (For more information, please see “North Korea and the Genocide Convention”:

http://hir.harvard.edu/north-korea-and-the-genocide-movement).

Please organize protests and hunger strikes in front of DPRK/PRC/UN offices (or other location), and let us know about your demonstration at connect@stopnkgenocide.com. 

Confirmed Protests So Far:

New York City, United States

12:00 pm: Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, silent march to DPRK Mission to the UN

1:00pm: Demonstration at DPRK Mission to the UN 

Speech by North Korean Defector Activist Ji Seong Ho (President of NAUH)

Event Coordinator: cbk2004@gmail.com

For Interviews, contact: iptbak@gmail.com

Seoul, Republic of Korea

3:00pm ~ 4:00pm: Demonstration at Seoul Station Plaza

4:00pm ~ 5:00pm: March to UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) 

7:30pm ~ 8:30pm: Candlelight rally in Seoul Plaza

Event Coordinator: pink2011info@gmail.com

Berlin, Germany

3:00pm ~ 6:00pm: Demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate

Event Coordinator: kimsunderhiswing@googlemail.com

Tokyo, Japan

12:00pm ~ 12:50pm Demonstration at Hachiko Square in Shibuya, Tokyo 

1:30pm: Demonstration at Chongryon

Event Coordinator: kanandoj@yahoo.co.jp

London, UK

1:00pm ~ 3:00pm Demonstration at North Korea Embassy

Event Coordinator: S.Yang10@lse.ac.uk

There are three main objectives of these international protests on December 9, 2011:

1)    To bring unprecedented pressure upon not only the NK regime but the international community to meaningfully address the horrific crimes being perpetuated systematically.

2)    To influence and awaken global public opinion to the real, genocidal nature of the NK regime.

3)    To create a watershed movement for the liberation of NK itself.

LETTER OF DEMANDS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

(to be read at the protests):

To the Leaders of Korea, America, China, Russia, Japan, the United Nations and the Entire International Community,

We Refuse to Allow the North Korean Genocide to Continue Any Longer. Over 4,000,000 Innocent North Koreans have been Murdered by Kim Jong-Il’s regime since 1995, and an estimated 1,000,000 North Koreans have been Murdered as a result of Slave Labor, Rape, Torture, Starvation and Execution in North Korea’s Political Concentration Camps. The Very Existence of these Concentration Camps makes the North Korean State Illegal, Illegitimate, and Criminal, and Demands The Immediate Intervention of the International Community.

Our Demands, based upon the foundation of International Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are as follows:

1)    The Immediate and Total Liberation of All North Korean Political Concentration Camps

2)    Compensation and Re-imbursement to All North Korean Victims of Slavery, Starvation, Torture, All Concentration Camp Survivors and Their Families for Immeasurable Loss and Suffering

3)    The Immediate Stepping Down from Power of Kim Jong-Il and North Korea’s Leaders

4)    Prosecution of Kim Jong-il, Kim Yong-nam, Chang Sung-taek and All Individuals Responsible for Commissioning or Carrying Out Acts of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

5)    Through the Guidance and Oversight of a Coalition of North Korean Refugee Leaders and Human Rights Activists, in Partnership with President Lee Myung Bak and the International Community, WE DEMAND THE LIBERATION AND REBUILDING OF NORTH KOREA BASED UPON THE FOUNDATION OF ENSURING AND GUARANTEEING WITHOUT FAIL THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SAFETY OF EVERY NORTH KOREAN INDIVIDUAL ACCORDING TO THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, WHICH WAS COMPOSED TO PREVENT THE ATROCITIES OF NAZI GERMANY FROM EVER OCCURRING AGAIN. WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, HAVE ALL FAILED TO KEEP OUR PROMISE AND UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND MOST MISERABLY IN THE CASE OF NORTH KOREA.

From connect@stopnkgenocide.com

Please pray for the success of these public demonstrations for North Korea and its suffering people.

Lord God,

I pray that you bless all of the protestors in Seoul, New York, Berlin, Tokyo and London and all other regions. We ask that December 9^th you will do a great miracle to liberate the North Korean people. Please heal all those who have suffered so much because of Kim Jong-il’s evil regime. We ask that you open North Korea now. Please heal Mr. Park and all of the North Koreans who have suffered torture and lost everything. We ask that you will do a miracle. Thank you for this incredible work and miracle in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Prayer submitted by Rita Vasquez

“I’m Gonna Pray for Korea”- A Prayer Song for the Unification of Korea

This is an inspiring music video with lyrics composed by Simon Ådahl from Sweden and sung by him and his brother, Frank. Please listen with your heart, pray for Korea and share it with others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHj1pefzxkc

November 2011

Vision Concerning Korea by Robert Park

On July 27^th, 2009, “The Global Day of Repentance and Prayer for a Unified Korea”, God gave a vision and instruction concerning the necessity for mass, united demonstrations to arise for North Korean Liberation and Human Rights. He revealed in the days which followed that through a constant, united, mass demonstrative movement:

1.     There would be Liberation and Redemption for the North Korean People (including An International Movement of Compensation and Re-imbursement for immeasurable Loss and Suffering)

2.     Korea would be Unified (with Worldwide Support)

3.     The Unified Korea will become truly Emancipated (freed from the influence/control of other nations)

4.     There will be Profound Reconciliation between North and South Koreans (as a result of South Koreans demonstrating sacrificially and unitedly for their North Korean brothers and sisters)

Let’s pray in accord with this vision that it will happen soon!

Activists Call for Global Protests against N.K. Rights Abuses

An online global network of activists called to the international  community Tuesday to stage simultaneous protests and hunger strikes against North Korea’s human rights abuses to mark the anniversary of a United Nations genocide convention in December. In an e-mail to journalists and other North Korea watchers, the N.K. Liberation Prayer Network urged readers to take part in its Worldwide Demonstration for North Korean Liberation and Human Rights on Dec. 9. The date marks the 63^rd anniversary since the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which North Korea is “violating in every possible way” despite its accession in 1989, the e-mail said.

It called for protests and hunger strikes in front of North Korean, Chinese, and U.N. offices worldwide or at any other location, in addition to the three events that have already been planned. These events are a protest at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, a march ot North Korea’s mission to the U.N. in New York, and a march and protest in Tokyo, Japan. The network is based on the movement Stop Genocide in North Korea, which claims 942 members on Facebook and demands the total liberation of all North Korean political concentration camps, compensation for all North Korean victims of starvation and torture, and the immediate resignation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, among other demands. North Korea has long been accused of serious human rights abuses, including holding hundreds of thousands of political prisoners, torture and public executions. The country denies the accusations, saying they are a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.

By Lee Haye-ah, SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) hague@yna.co.kr

December 9^th, 2011 – Worldwide Demonstration for North Korean Liberation and Human Rights

This is an international call to protest on December 9^th, 2011, 63^rd anniversary of the United Nations Genocide Convention which North Korea is violating in every possible way. For more information, see http://hir.harvard.edu/north-korea-and-the-genocide-movement

Please organize protests and hunger strikes in front of DPRK/PRC/UN offices (or other location) worldwide. Let us know about your demonstration at connect@stopnkgenocide.com

Events around the world so far:

1.     Berlin, Germany: Protest at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. For more information, contact www.tothestreets.de

2.     New York City, USA: Meet at Central Park. March to DPRK Mission to the UN. For more information, contact connect@stopnkgenocide.com

3.     Tokyo, Japan: Meet at Tokyo Shibuya. March and Protest. For more information, contact kanandoj@yahoo.co.jp

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=223456731047882&ref=ts

October 2011

Prayer Initiative for North Korea, September 19-22

Approximately 250 local ministry leaders supported by 70 international intercessors met not far from the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating North and South Korea. Some North Korean defectors were present and shared about the awful conditions and suffering of the Christians in the prison camps of the North There was a powerful and moving time of repentance between participants from the two divided nations, different denominations in the South and for the bloodshed of millions through the history of the Korean peninsula. Praise God for the sense that history was being made during this strategic initiative! We believe that His breakthrough and deliverance for the North is coming soon. Please continue to pray for this with us.

Robert Park, the missionary activist who walked into North Korea two years ago and was severely abused during his imprisonment there, spoke passionately during the PINK gathering, calling for mass demonstrations as well as prayer for those suffering in the North. He has since written about “reports of mass starvation and widespread death in North Korea not only from defectors (refugees) he knows personally but also in the media.” See the pictures from recent report by MSNBC and share with others: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44808274/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

He goes on to say: “North Korea is the most militarized nation on earth, and spends more money according to gross domestic product on its weapons program than any country in the world. It would be simple for them to feed these children and prevent their deaths - but the children are being sacrificed in the most wicked and abominable manner to meet the political ends of the regime.”

One way to help practically, he affirms, is to “raise financial support for the North Korean refugees so they may send remittances into these areas of North Korea and save lives that otherwise will die. That this is a confirmed route to affect the starvation-stricken areas has been confirmed in government and academic circles, see for example: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/04/21/remittances-from-north-korean-defectors/”

Please also see article Park wrote for the Washington Post in April for specific recommendations he has for the international grassroots community to solve this catastrophe: "The forgotten genocide in North Korea"(April 20th, 2011): http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-will

An International Appeal for Prayer, Fasting and Protest on behalf of North Korea

“We hope to partner with you for an international call to prayer and fasting for North Korea on December 9th, 2011, coinciding with the 63rd anniversary of the Genocide Convention which North Korea is violating through its severe and systematic persecution of Christians and their entire families. Accordingly there will be an international protest on this day, with gatherings in front of DPRK/PRC/UN offices worldwide (Please

see - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=223456731047882).

Specifically, we request your help in the following ways:

1) Please consider calling your network of intercessors to fasting and prayer for the North Korean people on this date.

2) For those who can be involved in the protest, we ask that they hold their fasting and prayer gatherings in a public venue outdoors.

3) For those who do or do not participate in the protest, but are able to fast and pray - we all will be giving the savings of that day to North Korean Christians and Defector Activists. Though individually the money will add up to nothing, collectively it can result in saved lives.”

Freedom and Life for All North Koreans

www.stopnkgenocide.com

connect@stopnkgenocide.com

PINK, Prayer Initiative for the Liberation of North Korea, September 18-22, 2011

300 local church leaders and 50 internationals in prayer ministry will gather at the Hallelujah Church in Seoul to pray for breakthrough in the deliverance of North Korea from its decades-long oppression and suffering at the hands of the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il regime.

The current situation in North Korea cries out for such an international prayer initiative like this. These are some of the ways it has been described in the media and by those who have been there as eyewitnesses:
 

• ·      “Largest prison camp in world”
• ·      “Worst human rights violating country”
• ·      “Worst persecutor of Christians”
• ·      4 million North Koreans have died of starvation since 1995
• ·      Economy “literally collapsed, operating at about 20%” due to adherence to juche central planning failures
• ·      Famine again stalks the land
• ·      500,000 fled to China for survival, mostly women and 80% of them raped and sexually trafficked
• ·      1 million killed in concentration camps with cruel brutality
• ·      North Korean people are “the most isolated, most persecuted, and most suffering”

Please join us in fervent, faith-filled, ongoing prayer for North Korea until it is liberated.

Goals of PINK as mapped out by the Korean organizers are: 1) To see real breakthroughs in the critical issues on North Korea; 2) As one of the stepping stones for the World Prayer Assembly—to connect various prayer networks before WPA and to receive strategies on global prayer issues; 3) To build up ongoing national and regional prayer networks in East Asia. If you are in prayer ministry and are interested to participate, please let our office know.

Robert Park, a Christian human rights activist who was imprisoned for three months last year by the Pyongyang regime, has repeatedly called for concerted prayer and action for the liberation of North Korea. In his April 20, 2011, article in the Washington Post, Park calls on the international community to stop the “genocide” that has been occurring in North Korea. This is also a call to prayer for God’s deliverance since Scripture encourages us to intercede for His transformation of nations. As one theologian has affirmed, “history belongs to the intercessors” (Walter Wink). Let us fervently pray with faith-filled expectation during these months leading up to September’s initiative, trusting the Lord to bring real change inside this deeply oppressed nation.

Here are a few excerpts from Park’s provocative article that should move our hearts to care and intercede:

“Holocaust” is the word used to describe the systematic extermination of millions of innocent European Jews during World War II. In the aftermath of this mammoth failure of humanity, many nations “repented” and declared that “never again” would such inhumanity and absolute disregard for human dignity and life be tolerated.

Yet on Jan. 1, the regime of Kim Jong Il warned that a “nuclear holocaust” would be inevitable if South Korea engaged the North in war. While the world watches peoples in the Middle East and North Africa rise up against tyranny, another people suffers on the Korean Peninsula. And that Pyongyang so irreverently invoked this term to describe its so-called necessary defense is a stark reminder of the genocidal and inhumane nature of Kim Jong Il’s regime and the atrocities it has committed against millions of innocents.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, called on the international community in 2004 to investigate “political genocide” in North Korea. In response to reports of “North Korea’s use of gas chambers to murder and perform medical experiments on political dissidents and their families” and the “chilling image of the murderers coolly watching their victims’ death agonies...all too reminiscent of Nazi barbarism,” the group’s chairman, Avner Shalev, wrote to then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that “the issue is all the more severe due to North Korea’s status as a member of the U.N.”

Outside observers and nongovernmental organizations estimate that 3.5 million North Koreans died of starvation between 1995 and 1997. They continue to die in huge numbers in a government-organized famine akin to the Holodomor famine-genocide in Ukraine (1932-33), which was orchestrated by Joseph Stalin. Billions in humanitarian aid have been shipped to North Korea, more than enough to feed the nation’s population, but government and academic studies have revealed that North Korea systematically diverted the aid, using it to bolster its military might while millions, for whom the aid was intended, starved to death. “

“North Korea has been considered the world’s worst persecutor of Christians for many years by objective researchers of religious persecution such as Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Soon Ok Lee, one of the few survivors of the North Korean concentration camp system, has testified before Congress and later told MSNBC that “since the Korean War—in Korea they call it June 25 War—the No. 1 enemy is God. Kim Il Sung hated God most.”

It is common knowledge among refugees and people who follow North Korea that those discovered to have any kind of faith or religious belief—and their families, to three generations—are executed or sent to concentration camps for life. This constitutes genocide under Article 2 of the convention; consequently, the world has not only the moral duty but also the legal right and obligation, under Article 8, to intervene.”

Please pray with us for the liberation of North Korea and for the effective planning and success of this crucial initiative!

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