Missions

North Korea tops persecution’s agency watch list

North Korea has again topped the World Watch List, compiled by Open Doors, where the country has received 90 out of the maximum 100 points, which is the highest ever recorded for a country, says the president of the Christian persecution monitoring agency, Dr. Carl Moeller.

North Korea has again topped the World Watch List, compiled by Open Doors, where the country has received 90 out of the maximum 100 points, which is the highest ever recorded for a country, says the president of the Christian persecution monitoring agency, Dr. Carl Moeller.

Dr. Moeller said it was a terrible year for Christians living in the reclusive Stalinist-state where they faced more persecution in 2007 than ever before. He believed there were major problems in the country where Christians were tortured for simply expressing their belief in Jesus Christ to others in a private manner.

"There [are] food shortages, there's state induced terror, there are Christians who are tortured on a regular basis simply because they expressed a belief in Jesus Christ to someone in a private way," he said.

This was the sixth time the country had been ranked as number one on the list. The Christian group added the situation on the ground was ‘getting worse’ day-by-day, according to cited local sources and thus it earned the notorious spot since, “(There was) no other country on the world (where) Christians were persecuted as severely as in the empire of the 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong Il."

Christianity was seen as a threat to the communist-state, said observers who visited the isolated nation-state, where the country was centred on ‘total devotion’ to the ideology promoted by the late leader Kim II Sung and his successor and son, Kim Jong II.

"We hope and pray that the persecution has now reached its highest point and that persecution will really start to decrease in 2008," said Open Doors' International Director Johan Companjen told Mission Network News (MNN).

Moeller said Christians understood why this was happening. "The brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted for their faith tell us that not only is it because they're witnessing for Jesus Christ, but because of the persecution, their faith has grown even stronger and their witness has grown even bolder. God uses that suffering in many ways to spread His church."

Among other nations mentioned in the World Watch List were Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Maldives, occupying the second, third and fourth places on the list. Bhutan rose to the fifth place while Somalia and Yemen were tied for sixth.

• Millions pray ‘Your Kingdom come’ on Global Day of Prayer
• Evangelicals set record straight on image problem
• Pope discusses Islam relations with Anglican head
• Pope calls for examining of faith on Palm Sunday
• Christians Speak Out on Iraqi Archbishop's Death

Indian president urged to intervene in violence against Christians

A delegation of the top Roman Catholic leaders has visited the Indian President, Mrs. Pratibha Patil, urging her to..

• Millions pray ‘Your Kingdom come’ on Global Day of Prayer