Deep Interest in Religious Persecution in North Korea

Deep Interest in Religious Persecution in North Korea. December. 06, 2004 22:41. by Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com.

National Association of Evangelicals’ (NAE) Vice Chairman Rich Cizik stated that the conservative and evangelical American Christians are deeply interested in North Korea’s religious persecution.

In the interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) published on December 5, Cizik commented on North Korea, “The NAE has many important things to do as a religious institution.”

He said, “It is a pressing need to solve North Korea’s religious persecution.” In addition, he stressed racial conflict in Darfur, Sudan and the need to build democracy in the Middle East.

The newspaper, however, reported, “If a Christian organization stresses conservative values, it will console those who support Israel, urge the U.S. to intervene in Africa’s human rights problems, and argue for a retreat in the engagement policy on China, but others are concerned.”

Since issuing the International Religious Freedom Report in 2001, the U.S. State Department has designated North Korea as a totalitarian nation with no religious freedom every year.