North Korea
From Missiopedia
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Official name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
DEMOGRAPHY
ECONOMY |
LIFE & LIBERTY |
Contents |
[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
- North Korea is a country in East Asia in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, with its capital in the city of Pyongyang. At its northern border are China on the Yalu River and Russia on the Tumen River, in the far northeastern corner of the country. To the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with which it formed one nation until the division following World War II.
[edit] Climate
[edit] Natural Resources
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Peoples
[edit] Provinces
[edit] Life
- Everyday life remains harsh for millions. Some take enormous risks to flee to China. If successful, they may be returned by China to face prison camps and worse. But some have become Christians in China.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Government
- Type of Government: Communist dictatorship
- Leader: Kim Jong-Il
- Prayer is needed for North Korea amid reports its leader Kim Jong Il may have suffered a serious health setback after the 66-year-old dictator failed to appear at an important celebration of his country's anniversary. There was no sign of Jong at a closely watched parade in Pyongyang on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008, marking the 60th anniversary of North Korea's founding. A U.S. intelligence report said he may have suffered a stroke, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
- Incapacity of the man North Koreans call the "Dear Leader" would have serious implications for the international effort to get North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons. His last reported public appearance was in mid-August, which was when health rumors began circulating about Jong, the AP reported. Jong took over North Korea in 1994 following the death of his father, North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung, at the age of 82. The impoverished country of 23 million people is suffering through their worst food shortage in a decade, the United Nations said, Bloomberg reported.
- Pray for:
- The salvation of Kim Jong-Il and other North Korean leaders, and all prisoners and guards, and for all torture camps to be closed down immediately.
- The safety and release of all imprisoned Christians.
- Pray that all North Koreans will receive proper nourishment on a daily basis. Food and medical supplies sent to North Korea to go directly to those in need, including to Christians, and not be pirated by the government.
- Pray that those who have violated Human Rights laws will be brought to justice.
- Underground Believers to be protected and to keep their faith in Christ while under extreme scrutiny. (Psalm 91)
- The North Korean government to give freedom to Christians to worship openly.
- Pray that North Korean Christians will feel the presence of the Lord, and never lose courage in Him. (Proverbs 3:5a)
[edit] Religion
- Non-Religious 64.3%, Other 18%, Traditional 16%, Christianity 1.7%. The North Korean constitution provides for “freedom of religious belief,” but in practice the government severely restricted religious freedom, including organized religious activity except that which is supervised tightly by officially recognized groups linked to the government. Genuine religious freedom does not exist.
[edit] Islam
[edit] Buddhism
[edit] Christianity
- 2% Christian
[edit] History
[edit] Churches
- The Church in North Korea was the birthplace of Korean revival — Pyongyang was known as the “Jerusalem of the East”. But most Christians fled to the south during the Korean War or were martyred, and churches were bulldozed. Little is known about today’s underground church; only that it has survived amidst great suffering. There are three propaganda "show" churches in the capital, but over 100,000 Christians are interned in labour camps. Pray for physical and spiritual safety for North Korean believers, that they hang on to their Saviour in what is possibly the most difficult country to be a Christian.
[edit] Church and State Relations
- The majority have never heard the name of Jesus. The knowledge of God has been obliterated for most by an Orwellian nightmare of repression, demands for total conformity, and isolation from the outside world. Pray that the God-shaped hole may be filled within the long-suffering Korean people. The turning to God could be dramatic when the state collapses.
[edit] Mission
- Our Mission is prayer:
- For the Captives to be Set Free: There are an estimated 200,000 to 1 million North Koreans, including women and children, currently being held in political concentration camps of the most terrible cruelty. Many are Christians; most are imprisoned because they or their relatives are believed to be critical of the North Korean regime. An estimated 400,000 to 1 million have died in these camps of starvation, torture, and execution since their institution in 1972. Please intercede for the salvation of all prisoners and guards, and for all concentration camps to be permanently closed down.
- For Human Rights: Please pray for the restoration of human rights to all North Koreans, specifically handicapped persons, children, women, the elderly, and the estimated 40 percent of the population that are considered part of the "hostile class"; those who are mercilessly persecuted because they or their relatives are believed to be critical of or are considered a blemish to the North Korean regime. Millions have starved to death and continue to starve because the regime has prevented the hostile class from receiving aid; all Christian families are classified as hostile. Please pray for justice, freedom, healing, and abundant life for all of the oppressed of North Korea.
- For the Starving: North Korea has been devastated by famine; millions of North Koreans have starved to death in the last 10 years and continue to starve. This is a humanitarian emergency affecting millions with the government starving those considered to be part of the "hostile class"; those who are mercilessly persecuted because they or their relatives are believed to be critical of the North Korean regime. International food aid has been diverted to the ruling party and the military. Please pray for sufficient food to reach those who are starving, breakthroughs for Christian aid workers to reach the poorest communities, for all starving persons to be restored to health, and for an end to the famine.
- For North Korean Children: Countless children have been orphaned in North Korea; many are homeless, starving, and living in dangerous circumstances. The tragedy and suffering they have endured is inestimable. Please pray for all North Korean children to be saved from the powers of darkness; that God would bring about a great deliverance so that this entire generation will live, have hope and a future and know His love, and for each of these children to be completely healed and completely blessed through the power of Jesus Christ.
- For Refugees: Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China to escape persecution and starvation. If caught by the Chinese police, they are forcibly repatriated back to North Korea where they face imprisonment or execution. In order to survive, many of the refugees become victims of human trafficking and other horrific crimes. Please pray for the welfare of all North Korean refugees, for God's divine protection and deliverance, that the Chinese government will stop forcing North Korean refugees to return to North Korea, and for all North Korean refugees to find true peace, hope, and abundant life through Jesus Christ.
- For Freedom and Spiritual Awakening: The majority of people in North Korea have never heard the Word of God, or heard the name of Jesus Christ. They are forced to worship Kim Jong-Il and his deceased father, Kim Il-Sung as gods and Christianity is seen as the greatest threat to the North Korean regime. In 2005, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that "there are virtually no personal freedoms in North Korea and no protection for universal human rights." Please pray for the walls of idolatry and communism to utterly collapse and for new and godly government, for God to raise up Christian leaders within North Korea, and for freedom and spiritual awakening to know the Truth for all North Korean people.
- For the Destiny of the North Korean Church: North Korean Christians have routinely suffered torture and execution for their faith; they are widely regarded as the most persecuted believers in the world. Yet in the midst of such persecution, the North Korean believers display faithfulness and love for God that is extraordinary; some North Korean refugees after receiving Christ in China decide to return to North Korea in order to spread the Gospel. Please pray for God's protection and deliverance for all North Korean Christians, for the North Korean Church to grow and increase in numbers that all North Koreans worldwide be saved, for God's great destiny and plan for North Korean believers to now come to fulfillment and that the nations would be transformed by their witness.
- For Workers: Please pray for the dedicated Christian workers that have been laboring to bring about change for North Koreans through prayer and advocacy; for all of those working within the North Korea human rights movement including those who have escaped North Korea and now are working to bring freedom and human rights to their homeland, for those in China and other nations helping North Korean refugees, and for Christian NGOs that work inside North Korea. Please pray for their protection, spiritual empowerment, and guidance, for unity and teamwork through the Holy Spirit between them, for the Christian Church throughout the world to join in united prayer for North Korea, and for God to send more workers into the harvest.
- For Revival and Transformation in North Korea: Before the installation of the Communist regime in 1945, North Korea was the center of a historic Christian revival. In 1907 the Church in Pyongyang underwent a great spiritual awakening through confession of sin and repentance that brought the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; Pyongyang became known as the "Jerusalem of the East". Pray that the Global Church would recognize the intense spiritual warfare that has been occurring over North Korea since then and would now fight to re-claim this nation for God's Kingdom, that North Korea's coming revival would be even greater than the former, and for God's Kingdom to fully come now with power throughout North Korea.
- For Unification: The three-year conflict known as the Korean War (1950-53) between North and South Korea resulted in the loss of an estimated over 4 millions lives. North and South Korea are still technically at war because the Korean War armistice was never followed by a peace treaty. Since the Korean War, several millions of North Koreans have been murdered through starvation, torture, and execution under the communist regimes of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Pray for the war to finally end through repentance, love, and compassion; that 2 Chronicles 7:14 be fulfilled for all of Korea -- South and North -- and that God's refreshing and healing flood completely overtake us. Pray that South Koreans would have favor for North Koreans and now receive and embrace them with love and understanding. Pray for the unification of North and South Korea under the banner of Jesus Christ that all walls of division and prejudice would now crumble, and that God would bring healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness in Jesus Name.
- For Korea's Destiny in Christ: Please join with believers worldwide in repentance for Korea's sins and in committing North and South Korea to the Lordship of Jesus Christ from now on and forevermore. Invite God to come into Korea and work together for good all that Satan meant for harm in this nation. Pray that He would harvest the whole of Korea back to Him and for Korea to arise now as one to wholeheartedly and faithfully serve God and be a blessing to the nations.
- For the Unity and Restoration of the Church Worldwide: Pray for the fulfillment of 2 Chronicles 7:14 worldwide; that we, the Global Church and Body of Christ would humble ourselves, pray and seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways so that God's healing flood will be released upon the nations. Pray that our Lord's personal prayer, that "they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21)", would now come to fulfillment; that we would suffer with all of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world and truly love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34), that the Body of Christ will be healed and made perfect in unity (John 17:23) to manifest God's glory to the nations. Pray that we would be awakened by the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) to see the whiteness of the world harvest (John 4:35) and to understand God's love and urgency for the nations (Mark 16:15); that we would pray, give, and go for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:44-46) and Christ's Great Commission (Matthew 28:19).
[edit] Broadcasting
[edit] Persecution
- For the fifth year in a row, this is the world's most difficult country in which to be a Christian. More were arrested in 2006 than in 2005. Now between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are suffering in prison camps, many undergoing torture, some facing death. The reclusive communist state is known to execute Christians found with a Bible, imprison and torture believers and ban all forms of worship. It is believed that tens of thousands of Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps where they face cruel abuses. Some think the hermit regime has detained more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world.
- On occasion, North Koreans become Christians after crossing the border with China and entering into contact with local Christians. But many are exposed as believers when they return to North Korea and are targeted for arrest. Many face torture and death. Though no exact figures can be given, hundreds of Christians were killed by the regime in 2005.
- Pray that Christians living in North Korea would stand firm during this relentless persecution. Ask God to reveal Himself in miraculous ways to the North Korean government.
- Pray that those who have been arrested, tortured and put in labour camps will know God's presence, His love and peace.
- Thank God that despite the odds, in one of the harshest places in the world, there are Christians surviving. Pray for our brothers and sisters’ safety.
- Read this article in Newsweek
[edit] Councils and Networks
[edit] Future Trends
[edit] For More Reading
