Interview: God shows his faithfulness to North Korean believers
Brother Simon on supporting North Korean believers
We interviewed Brother Simon*, the coordinator for our ministry among North Korean believers, about the basic situation for Christians in North Korea, the vision of the Church, and the impact of our work. He talks about the impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the behaviour of Kim Jong-un, and how your support and prayers are enabling our work with North Koreans to continue.
What effects has the COVID-19 pandemic had on North Korea?
In February 2020, the North Korean border was completely closed in an attempt to keep the virus out of the country, and all transportation and movement were prohibited in North Korea. North Korea was already struggling with the UN sanctions, and these strong border controls and travel restrictions made the North Korean economy even worse than ever, stopping trade and goods from being brought into the country. The smuggling routes were also blocked, and a lot of people rely on the goods smuggled in and sold on the black market. Prices of the few goods that were available, such as food and fuel, went up by 300 or 400 percent.
Since then, a limited amount of transportation has been allowed again, and the smuggling routes also became partially available. But still, the North Korean citizens are in a desperate situation. More than half of North Korea’s citizens are only able to eat one meal a day, and that one meal is not normal food, but are substitute foodstuffs.
The situation is so bad that Kim Jong-un’s government officially mentioned the severe food shortages during the party’s annual conference. Kim Jong-un tried to temporarily reduce the hunger of the North Korean citizens by releasing military stockpiles – North Korea usually operates a ‘military first’ policy when distributing resources. But there wasn’t as much food stockpiled as the military had reported, so the food supply to normal people was not provided properly.
What do you make of Kim Jong-un’s recent behaviour, such as apologizing for the food crisis and firing high-level officials?
Kim Jong-un cannot help but admit that the internal economic situation in North Korea is difficult and that the internal food supply situation is serious. Kim Jong-un has absolute power, which means he is fully responsible for that.
Strong opposition and dissatisfaction against Kim Jong-un are mounting among officials from all walks of life in North Korea. This is not official, but unusual things are already happening here and there. Ordinary North Korean citizens are also forced to carry out various orders from the North Korean regime, but their complaints are mounting.
In this situation, there is a possibility that unexpected sudden changes could occur in North Korea. At the same time, the Kim regime has survived for more than 70 years. We should help the North Korean church to be prepared for whatever might happen.
The situation for civilians in North Korea is getting worse.
How has the pandemic affected our work with North Koreans?
When the borders were closed, this made it even more difficult than usual for our North Korean brothers and sisters to come to China and receive supplies and training from our networks, but our work became a little easier again once the border controls were relaxed a little. Our distribution projects, providing food and medicines for North Korean Christians, have been very significant in supporting their survival during this desperate situation in North Korea, and we have increased the amount we are providing.
While the border closing meant that fewer people could leave North Korea, it also meant that people who had left before the pandemic then couldn’t get back into North Korea. In this way, God provided a new opportunity for our workers to contact these North Koreans who were stuck outside of North Korea and to provide them with shelter in our safe houses, practical support, as well as biblical training.
Our field workers in China have faced travel restrictions due to COVID-19 which have been challenging. Once the vaccine became available travel became easier, but then the delta variant has led to greater travel restrictions once again.
Even during such difficult times, God continues to show us His faithfulness.
How many North Koreans do we support?
Via our safe houses and our network in China, we support over 60,000 North Koreans with practical aid such as food, medicines, clothes and Christian materials, and tens of thousands of believers listen to the radio programs that we transmit into North Korea.
What is your vision for the work with North Koreans?
Our vision for 2022 is to expand our work and reach even more North Koreans with practical and spiritual support. We are planning to open more contact points close to the border where we can meet with North Koreans. We are also hoping to find and support more workers who will dedicate themselves to this ministry. Through various secret channels, we strive to serve as God’s faithful servants by maximizing our capacities.
All of this is part of the advancement of God’s Kingdom in Asia. He has revealed to the North Korean Christians that He’s purifying their church. That’s what persecution does: it purifies the faith of the believers. One day, this Communist nightmare will be over and the North Korean followers of Jesus will join their South Korean and Chinese brothers to spread the Gospel throughout Asia, reaching even the darkest places.
Only God knows when this time will come. We know that when North Korea changes, the Church will be under a lot of pressure. A lot of people will search for the truth and the Christians will have to be ready to tell them about the Truth. But there will also be new temptations and traps for Christians. For this reason, I’m already developing materials and training to help them prepare.
Can you tell us about the biblical training we give to North Korean Christians in our safehouses?
The biblical training at the safe houses depends on the level of knowledge of our North Korean visitors. Generally, we focus on basic knowledge of the Bible. If they have been trained before, we train them in leadership so that they may be able to lead the secret North Korean churches when they go back to North Korea.
The daily schedule starts with morning prayer and closes with evening prayer. The North Korean believers study the Bible in the daytime and read various Christian books on their own. The local workers regularly visit the safehouses for prayer meetings, Bible studies and biblical mentoring.
Can you tell us about our work with North Korean women who have been trafficked into China?
Many North Korean women are promised work in China, and they often leave North Korea with the intention of returning with the money they hope to earn. But frequently they are trafficked and sold into marriage with Chinese men, or worse.
Our workers are able to reach out to these women with the love of Jesus, and they run several Bible study groups for these women.
COVID-19 and the associated travel restrictions have caused serious difficulties for this ministry, but our workers continue to serve the sisters, helped by local churches.
Recently, it has been even more difficult to travel the areas where the meetings take place, but we have been able to train a small number of North Korean sisters whose faith has grown enough to start taking care of other sisters. This is a good strategy during this chaotic season. After the travel regulations are lifted, our workers plan to restart visiting our North Korean sisters.
It is still an ongoing task for us to find more female workers to take care of this ministry. We have been looking for the right people.
Can you tell us about the radio ministry?
This is the ministry area that has been able to continue without much difficulty amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We broadcast Christian radio programs into North Korea in the middle of the night, so that believers can listen to them secretly.
These days the programs are aired five times a week. I provide a sermon once a week. Two to three North Koreans participate in each program, and by God’s amazing grace, not one of them has been infected by the virus. We have been given God’s special help for the ministry during this difficult season.
The radio ministry continues to serve those isolated underground believers with the Word of Life. We must continue this ministry to fulfill the spiritual hunger of the underground believers of North Korea.
Is there a message you would like to share with Open Doors supporters who have been praying and giving to help North Korean believers?
Despite the difficulties throughout the coronavirus pandemic, our brothers and sisters around the world are not shaken. They continue to serve not only the underground believers of North Korea but all the persecuted believers of the world. I would like to send great gratitude and respect to all the supporters of Open Doors.
As the underground believers and leaders of North Korean churches struggle to survive each day, they are encouraged by the prayers and gifts from the supporters. All the devotion, sacrifice, and faith of the numerous supporters will be answered by God thirty times, sixty times, and a hundred times over, with fruits that will be ripe in the North Korean mission field. As all of you strived to help the weakest part of the body of Christ during the most difficult time, I believe all you brothers and sisters of the world will be blessed as Jesus says, “Well done, my good and trustworthy servant!”
*Name changed for security reasons
