A two-year-old boy was sentenced to life in jail when North Korean officials discovered a Bible in his parents’ home.
The US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report 2022, which documents the regime’s crackdown on persons with religious convictions, documented this occurrence.
Despite officially allowing religious freedom, North Korea considers itself an atheist state. However, the leadership of Kim Jong-un continues to restrict religious activity in the country.
According to the report, the family was imprisoned, and even the child was not spared.
The publication based its conclusions on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights organizations, and the United Nations to show how Christians—estimated by the UN to be between 200,000 and 400,000—are being persecuted for their beliefs under Kim Jong-un’s leadership. It said that so far, 70 Christians have been jailed.
The US study also revealed numerous incidents of North Koreans being executed because of their Christian beliefs. According to the story, in 2011, a lady and her grandchild were executed by firing squad.
Certain followers were allegedly subjected to “pigeon torture
It also mentioned certain followers who were allegedly subjected to “pigeon torture,” in which their wrists were tied behind their backs and they were unable to sit or stand for days.
One victim was quoted as saying. “It was the most painful of all tortures…It was so painful I felt it was better to die.”
In other cases, victims were deprived of sleep, and one lady was placed in solitary confinement. She later committed suicide in 2020 after jail guards refused to allow her to sleep.
Christians face the most severe punishments
Others were subjected to malnutrition, dehydration, poisoned food, beatings, and being forced to remain in excruciating positions for extended periods of time.
Though the article, citing Korea Future NGO, claims that the state has penalized people who practice shamanism, it is Christians who have been persecuted the most severely.
According to the journal, numerous North Korean Christians concealed their beliefs from their children for fear of punishment.
It quoted the findings of one non-governmental organization, Open Doors USA (ODUSA), which stated: “A Christian is never safe.”
“Children are encouraged to tell their teachers about any sign of faith in their parents’ home.”
According to Korea Future, children were taught at school about Christian missionaries’ “evil deeds,” such as “rape, blood-sucking, organ harvesting, murder, and espionage.”
“One defector told Korea Future the government published graphic novels in which Christians coaxed children into churches and took them to the basement to draw their blood,” the report said.
