It seems that there is a growing divide in North Korea between the donju who have money and the rest of the population.  Donju are the newly affluent and growing middle class but in the North it is hard to speak of a middle class since the divide is so great.  Anyway, they are able to buy their way out of undesirable work like the army and the "spring battle" that requires everyone to get out into the fields and plant. (The North has set up up another tension by upgrading schools from fines for skipping out.) They are strongly focused on owning the latest South Korean goods, including the best cosmetics, and this despite the increasing crackdowns.  The growth of this class that increasingly flaunts authority may also be adding to Kim Jong Un's sense of insecurity. He recently executed his latest defense chief, Hyon Young Chol--by antiaircraft fire. This is only the latest in a long string of purges that reflect this.  This insecurity and his inconsistencies (e.g. canceling UN Security-General Ban Ki Moon's visit) are of grave concern.
 
Kim Jong Un is also quite concerned about the ongoing communication between North Koreans and relatives who have made it to the South.  He has been tightening up and call volume is dropping.
 
There is much in the news these days about North Korea that should fuel our prayers.  We have also learned that the long arm of ISIS has also touched North Korea in the kidnapping of a North Korean doctor and his wife in Libya. Keep praying!
 
Ben Torrey
Director
The Fourth River Project, Inc.
www.thefourthriver.org
 
Here is the link to a marvelous video about a university that has been established by Christian organizations in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. It is a bold effort to change minds of young people so they can become change agents in this oppressive dictatorship:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur7IwW5NA0s

From the editor:
An additional, very special development for ministry inside North Korea has occurred that could bring great blessing and breakthrough to the nation this year. Please pray with us for all those involved in this process.