Population
24 million
Capital City
P'yongyang
Leadership
Chairman of the
National Defense
Commission
Kim Jong Il
Eternal President
Kim Il-sung
Religion
All religion prohibited
North Korean
Ambassador
to the
U.S.
No current diplomatic
relations
BIO
Under the communist regime in North Korea, all religion is prohibited and deemed threatening to the security of
the state. As a result of this policy, Christians in the region are
forced to worship secretly and in constant fear. Many are caught
and punishments range from fines to imprisonment to torture and
even execution. Others take a potentially greater risk and flee to
neighboring China, where, if caught, repatriation followed by
execution is almost a certainty.
Unfortunately, China is proving its reputation for religious
intolerance, and consequently its lack of
acknowledgement of
human rights, and is forcing repatriation
for many who cross its
borders seeking asylum from North Korea. A former North
Korean State Security Agency official has given evidence that
North Koreans who try
to escape to a third country are usually
executed upon their return. And yet the
deportations continue.
This is a clear breach of China's
obligations under the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention.
Sadly, it would seem that China is not interested in being
questioned on its actions in these matters,
and has been moving
exceptionally quickly in repatriating the
captured North Koreans.
According to the US Commission on International Religious
Freedom, "between 30,000 and 300,000 North Koreans are
now in China. Most have fled to escape the dire conditions in
North Korea, including the
denial of religious freedom and all
other basic human rights in that country... The Chinese
govern-
ment does not grant refugee status to fleeing North Koreans,
even
though most if not all meet the international criteria for that
status. In addition, the Chinese government does not allow the
UNHCR to operate in the
border region between China and
North Korea, thus preventing that organization from interviewing
those crossing the border and assessing
their status as
refugees."
Can you recommend some
other North Korea web sites?