The biggest thing in the news these days is the execution of Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, and its aftermath.  North Korean official news sources gave many reasons for the execution including treason, anti-revolutionary and anti-government activities as well as misusing funds under his control.  There may be some truth to that as gold mining operations that came under his authority were shut down in October because the export proceeds were not getting to the government in the proper manner. We also have reports of earlier executions and even battles with forces loyal to Jang. There is an increasingly wide-spread crackdown and purging under way with hundreds of Jang's relatives being sent off to prison camp and possible execution while a number of diplomats close to him have been recalled from overseas.  Analysts are coming up with numerous theories and discussing the consequences of this latest illogical, cruel and bizarre behavior by the North Korean leader, especially in relation to its affect on economics and relations with China. There are even reports that the execution got away from him, happening quicker than he intended following Jang's arrest and that Kim Jong Un underwent something of a breakdown as a result. He may have been drunk at the time as well. At the same time, it could be in keeping with his background (somewhat spoiled young man) and attempts to keep outsiders just a bit off balance. And now with Dennis Rodman off to Pyongyang for his latest trip but without seeing his friend for life, we are not sure what to make of it. There does seem to be an upswing in defections as a result of Jang's execution but market prices appear to be stable even as people do seem to be staying away from them and trying to keep a low profile.  No one is quite sure what might happen next. With all of this going on, there is also a growing number of North Koreans who have been finding life in the South difficult. It is not easy when you have to make all the decisions for yourself after a lifetime of being told what to do, where to live and what to eat. This added to the struggle that many have had to overcome prejudice against them as North Koreans. A few have actually returned to NK and others may be trying to get there. We also know of many who have thrown away their South Korean citizenship papers and have been trying to gain refugee status in other countries. Pray for these North Koreans who are finding life so difficult in the South. North Korea is truly a land in turmoil these days.  Much prayer is needed as it becomes increasingly unclear what will happen next. Ben Torrey, Director The Fourth River Project, Inc. www.thefourthriver.org Thousands Call for President Xi Jinping to End China's Violent Treatment of North Korean Refugees, Humanitarians By Jeremy Reynalds Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service WASHINGTON D.C. (ANS) -- The North Korea Freedom Coalition (NKFC) has sent petitions to the Embassy of China signed by over 8,000 citizens worldwide calling upon President Xi Jinping to end China's violent repatriation policy. It's that policy which has led to the torture, imprisonment and death of thousands of North Korean citizens and humanitarian workers. According to a news release made available to the ASSIST News Service, the NKFC also posted the latest update to THE LIST (available in English, Korean, and Spanish at www.nkfreedom.org) of those incidences when North Korean refugees were repatriated and humanitarian workers were killed for trying to help them. "It is fitting that these petitions are submitted on Human Rights Day, the day we recognize the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said NKFC Chairman Suzanne Scholte. She added, "North Korea is the only country in the world denied every single one of these universally recognized human rights, which is why so many try to escape. This problem will only continue under the dictator ship of Kim Jung Eun." The signature of more than 8,000 petitioners who represent 28 nations were collected by Teresa Ost of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, and through an online petition at the NKFC's website. They request President Xi to honor China's international treaty commitments by providing the refugees access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, so they will not be subjected to torture, imprisonment, and in many cases execution when forced back into North Korea. Petitioners included citizens of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and the U.S. THE LIST complied by NKFC members cites hundreds of incidences of repatriations and deaths. "So that people fully understand whose lives China has put in grave danger, we are sharing today these six sample stories from entries of names from THE LIST," Scholte said in the release. She added, "These tragic stories are from yesterday and today and will continue tomorrow until China ends its violent, inhuman, and illegal policy of repatriation." Jo Sung Hye North Korean escapee Jo Sung Hye was 26 years old and wanted a better life than the suffering and starvation she had endured in North Korea. Out of respect for China's law, NKFC said she and six others known as the MOFA seven filled out all the paper work to legally apply for asylum in China with the hope to go to South Korea. As she and the six others went to the Chinese Foreign ministry on Aug. 26 2002 to legally apply, the Chinese police arrested them and forced them back to North Korea. The fate of the MOFA seven is unknown. Kang, Sung-Il North Korean escapee Kang Sung-Il had become a South Korean citizen but wanted the world to know about the suffering in North Korean's political prison camps which North Korea even today denies even exist. He traveled to China to get footage from another escapee of North Korea's infamous Yoduk prison camp that aired on Japanese television. He was reported as missing in Longjing City, believed to have been seized by North Korean agents in China and taken to Pyongyang and sent to a political prison camp in March 2005. NKFC said China will not allow the UNHCR to work in this region, but allows North Korean agents to arrest and kill refugees and humanitarian workers even on its own soil. Chung Soon-Ae is th mother of Gil Su, the famous young man whose drawings depicting starvation, torture and everyday life in North Korea shocked the people of South Korea when they were published in the Chosun Ilbo. His drawings made his entire family a target of the regime's wrath. Fortunately, NKFC said, most of Gil Su's family escaped from North Korea and made it to South Korea. However, his mother was seized by Chinese police and repatriated to North Korea on March 13 2001 and sent to a political prison camp in April 2001. She was 46 years old at the time. Gil Su asked that her name be added to THE LIST because "raising her name may keep her alive." Noh Yea Ji was 15years old and part of a group of nine North Korean orphans who had successfully escaped to Laos, having been sheltered and protected in China by a South Korean missionary and his wife. They had successfully made it to Laos to seek resettlement in South Korea. Expecting every day to be allowed to go to South Korea, on May 28 2013 they were told to gather their belongings as they were going to board a plane for South Korea. Excitedly they departed the detention center in Laos. The NKFC said they were forced to board a Chinese commercial flight, not realizing that the Chinese government and the Lao government had conspired with the North Korean government to force all nine orphans back to North Korea. They were last seen in Pyongyang being utilized in a propaganda film for the regime. NKFC said in the release that South Korean POW Han Man Taek was 73 years old when he escaped from North Korea on December 27 2004, having been held there against his will since 1953. Within a month of being arrested by the Chinese authorities he was forced back to North Korea by China in January 2005. Like so many South Korean POWs - hundreds still in North Korea today - he just wanted to go home. Rev.Kim Dong Shik was an American humanitarian who had devoted his life to serving others, especially disabled individuals, as he had been permanently injured from a car accident. Having a strong love for the people of North Korea, he and his wife hosted the North Korean Olympic team during the Atlanta Games. Aware of the suffering of those trying to escape, Kim shifted his focus, moved to China and began sheltering refugees and helping them get to South Korea. He was abducted from China in Jan. 2000, believed to have been tortured and killed. Repeated appeals by his wife to the DPRK for information about him, including his remains, have gone unanswered. These are the people of THE LIST. NFKC said, "China's failure to honor its international treaty obligations has led to a lawless environment in China. Over 80 percent of female refugees are subjected to trafficking, and North Korean agents are allowed free reign to assassinate humanitarian workers but the UNHCR is denied access tot he refugees." For more information visit www.nkfreedom.org Let us continue to pray for North Korea's transformation, for an end to this oppressive regime and that China will change its policy towards North Korea, its refugees, and those humanitarian workers trying to help them. Pray for His justice and deliverance for the many that suffer in this desolate, hopeless land.