Korea North

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent with BosNewsLife Asia Service SEOUL/PYONGYANG (BosNewsLife)-- North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il has died at the age of 69, state media reported, adding to uncertainty about the plight of as many as one million prisoners, including many Christians, who rights activists say are held in the Communist country's notorious concentration camps.  

By BosNewsLife Asia Service PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (BosNewsLife)-- An American Christian missionary has been returned to a harsh labor camp in North Korea, despite international concern about his health. The 45-year-old Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen detained for 15 months, was transferred from a hospital to the camp on January 20, a State Department spokesperson said in comments monitored by BosNewsLife Saturday, February 9.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife PYONGYANG/SEOUL (BosNewsLife)-- There was concern Thursday, May 30, over the whereabouts of an American evangelical missionary after North Korea confirmed it had sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor for alleged "hostile acts" against the Communist-run isolated state. Pae Jun-ho, known in the U.S. as Kenneth Bae, was tried on April 30, the state news agency KCNA said.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Senior International Correspondent SEOUL/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife)-- North Korea has reportedly executed three Christians who were meeting in an underground church, BosNewsLife monitored Monday, August 16. Twenty others attending the same worship service were sent to notorious labor camps, said well-informed Catholic news service AsiaNews.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos SEOUL/PYONGYANG (BosNewsLife) -- North Korea is hiding coronavirus patients in ”quarantine camps” where...

By BosNewsLife News Center BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Thousands of Christians have died for their faith in the past year, twice more than in 2012,  according to Open Doors International’s 2014 World Watch List. Open Doors International, a charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith, said 2,123 Christians were reported to have been killed during 12 months ending October 31, 2014.

By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife's Senior Special Correspondent Johan Th. Bos reporting from the Netherlands AMSTERDAM/WASHINGTON D.C. (BosNewsLife)-- One of the world's largest mission agencies, Open Doors, named North Korea and Iran Wednesday, November 6, as "the worst persecutors of Christians".

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos PYONGYANG/SEOUL (BosNewsLife)-- Global Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio (TWR) said Thursday, April 11, that it is launching new programs aimed at North Korea to bring "a message of peace and hope" to "counter the swirling rumors of war" in the troubled region. TWR's announcement came after South Korea’s foreign minister warned that North Korea was expected to conduct a nuclear capable missile launch Thursday, April 11, a development that prompted that country and the U.S. to increase their military alerts levels.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist SEOUL/PYONGYANG (BosNewsLife Columns)-- For the 12th straight year the Open Doors organization has ranked North Korea as the country in which the persecution of Christians is most severe. Its annual World Watch List, released in December, notes that an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 North Korean Christians are imprisoned in labor camps.

By Eric Leijenaar, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent PYONGYANG/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in North Korea said Wednesday, November 23, a massive famine has broken in their autocratic-ruled nation with many children "dying" while security forces send malnourished people to prison camps for refusing to join "100 days of battle." (MORE)