“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c].. .Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts…He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire… He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (from Psalm 46)

Having witnessed with our facilitation teams the Lord bringing an end to eight wars and ethnic conflicts over the last 20 plus years when His people come together in united, focused prayer, I have full confidence that we could see Him do the same in the current, very scary stand-off with North Korea. We must, however, not lose our sense of intercessory concentration on this most urgent international security threat. God will use our united prayers even more than THAAD high altitude missile defense systems to raise up a shield of 24/7 protection, a virtual fortress so that we do not have to fear as the above psalm tells us. He can make this conflict subside and enable a peaceful solution to be reached if we will continue to cover it in ongoing intercession.

Here is the latest on this worsening crisis:

1) The problem with the military option

An article in the Washington Times today offers this perspective:

“The most detailed analysis of all possible scenarios ranging from a “crushing U.S. military strike to eliminate Pyongyang’s arsenals of mass destruction, take out its leadership, and destroy its military” to “removing chairman Kim Jong-Un and his inner circle, most likely by assassination,” is provided by Mark Bowden in The Atlantic. His conclusion: All these options not only will carry huge human and material costs, but their end results will turn both the regional and the global situation from bad to worse.  

Gregory Treverton, the former chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, agrees that “military options against the North’s nuclear arsenal suffer from two problems: they might not succeed, and Pyongyang has devastating retaliatory options.”  (Washington Times, Sept 29)

Let us pray that these violent military options will not have to be used. They could unleash a destructive retaliation that would cause the deaths of many hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.

2) The danger of provocative actions

“Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera warned Friday that North Korea may engage in dangerous provocations next month. The Japanese defense minister’s call for caution came after South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong made a similar warning the day before.

There are several dates North Korea might choose to mark with its own special brand of fireworks. Oct. 9 is the anniversary of North Korea’s first nuclear test, Oct. 10 is the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean communist party, and Oct. 18 marks the start of the twice-in-a-decade Communist Party Congress in China.” (DailyCaller.com, Sept 29)

Pray that the North Korean regime will be held back from launching provocative operations due to Kim Jong Un’s fear of losing face with his own people or as part of these upcoming anniversaries.

3) China’s key role and the important use of sanctions

Successive rounds of U.N. sanctions have cut off more than 90 percent of North Korea’s publicly reported exports — including coal, iron ore, seafood and, most recently, textiles — and have restricted the regime’s ability to earn foreign currency income by sending workers abroad.

China accounts for roughly 85 percent of North Korea’s external trade and is seen by many as the key to forcing Pyongyang to at least freeze its nuclear and missile programs.” (Washington Post, Sept 29th)

“China and the United States have developed a closer relationship due to North Korea’s antics, which former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus describes as genuinely disgusting and frustrating to Chinese President Xi Jinping.” (Breitbart, Sept 29)

China is absolutely the key factor for the peaceful resolution of this crisis. Pray that China and the USA will work closely together to solve this great international security problem. Pray that China will continue to effectively shut down their trade and business connections with North Korea and that any smuggling or bypassing of this new embargo will be strictly prevented so that the North Korean regime’s economic ability to wage war is choked off.

4) The perilous connection with Iran

“Failure to stop North Korea will almost certainly lead to a failure to stop Iran. In the past, Pyongyang has transferred nuclear and missile technology to Iran, resulting in similar missiles appearing in military parades in both capitals. Iran is now much more developed in science and technology, and is likely to improve on North Korean systems.

Furthermore, Iran can keep within all the restrictions imposed on it by the nuclear deal and still develop and test its nuclear weapon and missile program in North Korea.” (Algemeiner.com, Sept 29th)

Let’s pray that the relationship of North Korea and Iran will be cut off and that as North Korea is dealt with, Iran’s capacity to build up nuclear weapons and missile program will also be curtailed through similar sanctions and united actions by the international community.

Thanks for continuing to cover this alarming situation in your prayers.

John Robb, IPC Chairman