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
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Coalition Coordinates Global Day of Action

On 6 October, CSW joined Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Federation of Human Rights and other members of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) in a Global Day of Action.

A letter to Kim Jong-Il, signed by over forty members of the ICNK was delivered to North Korea’s embassies and diplomatic missions in London, Paris, Geneva, New York, Bangkok and Hong Kong, and at the unofficial North Korean embassy, the Chosen Soren, in Tokyo. In addition to the demonstration in London, a protest was staged in Seoul to the south of the Korean Peninsula.

Coalition Urges End to Torture, Execution and Forced Labour

The ICNK’s letter calls on North Korea’s regime to end the widespread violation of human rights, appealing to them to “end all executions, stop the deliberate and systematic use of torture, close the kwan-li-so, and immediately end the practice of forced labour in penal institutions”.

Furthermore, the ICNK urges North Korea to grant access to the country for the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and in particular to open up its prison camps for international inspection. In addition, the ICNK calls on North Korea to adhere to the principles of international human rights instruments to which it is obligated, particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It urges North Korea to join the International Labour Organisation and to provide international humanitarian organisations unrestricted access to evaluate reported chronic food shortages, monitor food distribution and address the country’s growing humanitarian crisis.

“The time to end the culture of impunity is now”

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader, who helped establish the ICNK, Benedict Rogers, commented that, “the global day of action, in which this letter was delivered across numerous cities across several continents, in English, French, Spanish, Korean and Chinese languages, is a significant statement of our deep and profound concern about the suffering of the people of North Korea.”

He continued, “the time to end the crimes against humanity in North Korea is long overdue. The time to end the culture of impunity in North Korea is now. More than forty human rights organisations from across Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, joined by survivors of North Korea’s prison camps, are speaking with one voice and calling on Kim Jong-Il to stop the torture, stop the executions, open up the prison camps to international inspection, and end the barbaric and inhumane system of terror he has inflicted on his people for too long.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide www.csw.uk.org