Tragic news coming from North Korea today. According to South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, as many as 80 people were publicly executed in North Korea this month for minor offenses such as owning a BibleThe alleged “criminals” were put to death in seven cities across North Korea, averaging ten per city. The victims had their heads covered by white bags, were tied to stakes near a stadium, and shot by authorities repeatedly with machine guns. North Korean officials forced a crowd of over 10,000 people, including children, to witness the killings.“I heard from the residents that they watched in terror as the corpses were (so) riddled by machine-gun fire that they were hard to identify afterward,” the JoongAng Ilbo source said.The massacre marks the first time during Kim Jong-un’s reign where public executions have taken place, a troubling sign for the future of the totalitarian country. Government officials suggest that the executions were meant to quell the recent spread of capitalism in various cities across North Korea.North Korean law permits executions for conspiring to overthrow the government, treason and terrorism. But the country has also been known to order public executions for minor infractions such as religious activism, cellphone use and stealing food, in an effort to intimidate the public.read more: http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/06/23/north-korea-publicly-executes-80-for-possessing-bibles.html
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
Brother respectfully, this story is about 4 years old. I just went in the internet to check and the first reports of this particular story came out in late 2013. Since then, variations of this story have been floating around.For sure, North Korea is persecuting Christians. And many are dying this day in the notorious death camps of Kim Jung Un. So we must keep our brothers and sisters in the shadow of the cross in our prayers.bro Blaine
Thank you brother for clarifying. I saw it on a facebook post and did not check carefully if it was current news.
I understand my brother. It is hard to verify the current news out of restricted nations. However, there is no doubt that believers are being martyred in North Korea who do possess a Bible. So you posting the story is a reminder that we should be praying for those who are in the shadow of the cross in the nation of North Korea.Bro Blaine
Thanks for posting Greg! I don’t know of another country in the world where Christians are persecuted more severely as in North Korea. This is a reminder that our persecuted brothers and sisters in North Korea desperately need our prayers, as well as the underground ministries that are reaching these persecuted saints.
_________________Mike
Breaks my heart
_________________Dominic Shiells