According to multiple news sources, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of 33 Christians believed to be working with South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook.
Kim Jung-wook was arrested by authorities in 2013 after having worked to start roughly 500 underground churches in North Korea. The North Korean dictator is now accusing the missionary and his followers of attempting to overthrow the government, which is the same accusation he made toward his uncle, Jang Song-thaek and his relatives before ordering them to be eaten by a pack of dogs late last year.
Birmingham-area pastor David Platt visited the North Korean border last October and noted the dangers that Christians in that country face on a daily basis.
“There are a wide spread of emotions running through me, even as I look out across this line into this country that I pray for,” Platt said from the North Korean border. “I’m just overwhelmed by the reality of the persecution that I know is represented across that line when it comes to followers of Christ in one of the most oppressive regimes in the world — and the cost of following Christ right behind me.”
The costs of following Christ in North Korea are becoming known to the world this week in the wake of Kim’s execution order.
Rep. Bradley Byrne, AL-01, delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last week highlighting the plight of Christians in nations overseas that have experienced systematic persecution at the hands of oppressive governments.
“Our nation has a moral responsibility to contribute to ending Christian persecution,” Byrne said. “As the Christian communities (around the world) continue to be decimated, we cannot turn a blind eye to this injustice… The United States of America, our president, the secretary of state, this body, the entire Congress and American people, should do what we have traditionally done — stand up for the rights of people around the world… That means standing up for Christians who are being persecuted and killed merely because of their beliefs.”
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.