The Voice Of the Martyrs (VOM), a group serving Christians in restricted nations who it says are persecuted for their faith, said it established that those arrested in North Korea "were in fact Christian believers and not spies," and added they may have been killed. "We pray that they are alive,” VOM Spokesman Todd Nettleton told BosNewsLife in a statement.
"But we know it is possible that they have finished their race on earth and gone on to their eternal reward in heaven. We encourage Christians everywhere to pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea, who must constantly face the threat of arrest, torture and execution simply for living out their faith in Jesus Christ."
VOM sources apparently do not know the whereabouts of the arrested believers. "It is possible that they have already been tried and executed."
CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS
In statements released in September, the National Security Service of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) reportedly said that those arrested "carried out the missions by means of diverse espionage equipment," seen as a virtual death sentence. The spokesman, Li Su Gil, did not release names of those arrested.
VOM told BosNewsLife that it managed to the North Korean Christians as men Chul Huh, Chun-Il Jang, 39, Young-Su Jin, 32, Myung-Chul Kim, 36, Nam-Suk Kang, 48 and a woman, Young-Yae Lee, female, 37, all from the Onseong region of North Hamgyong Province. Others detained in the same province included a Christian man San-Ho Kang, 36, from the Hoeryong region and another man, Suk-Chun Suh, 29, and a woman, Mi-Hae Park, 30, from Cheongjin region, VOM said.
The apparently active North Korean Christians had started a portrait photography studio to help support themselves, and had registered their businesses with appropriate government authorities, VOM said. It quoted local sources in North Korea as saying "they were not involved in espionage activities" and that equipment "taken by the government was in fact photography equipment used in their portrait work."
TREASON CHARGES
VOM Nettleton said, "Following Jesus Christ is considered treason in North Korea, where the government mandates that worship is reserved for deceased dictator Kim Il Sung and his son, the current dictator, Kim Jong Il."
He said his group "is proud to stand with Christ’s followers in North Korea, and deeply concerned for the well-being of our brothers and sisters there. We call on the North Korean government to release these Christian believers, who were involved in legitimate business activities to support themselves and their families."
VOM has been actively involved in helping North Korean Christians for decades. Among the projects it carried out is the launch of thousands of "scripture balloons," mylar balloons filled with helium and printed on either side with scripture passages.
The group encouraged Christians to write letters protest letters to the North Korean at the United Nations: Permanent Mission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations 820 Second Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
