Human rights activists: China and North Korea team up to persecute Christians
Experts believe that Christianity is perceived by the governments of these countries as a challenge to absolute authority, as it offers an alternative to oppression and tyranny.
Since last year, China has been harshly treating hundreds of North Koreans, forcibly returning them to their homeland, where Christianity and other religious beliefs are seen as a threat to the regime's power, experts stated during hearings in the United States. According to Christian Daily, those who return from China to North Korea face torture, sexual violence, slavery, and even death.
Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the non-governmental Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), emphasized that religion, especially Christianity, is perceived by Kim's regime as a challenge to its absolute power. Christianity offers an alternative to oppression and tyranny, which delegitimizes the government's control.
According to Hanna Song, executive director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB), hundreds of North Koreans have faced forced repatriation despite the risks. Upon return, they are interrogated about possible contacts with missionaries during their time in China. “This question is not merely a formality. The answer determines the severity of punishment they will endure. If an individual admits to or is found to have had contact with a missionary, particularly one affiliated with Christianity, they’re often subject to the harshest forms of torture and imprisonment,” Song said.
Joanna Hosaniak, deputy director general of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), noted that North Korean repatriates suspected of religious connections are separated from others returnees.
“This persecution needs to be seen in a much wider context – simply put, North Korean leadership is operating a criminal enterprise which enslaves civilians to facilitate production of goods for export, such as textiles and products labeled 'Made in China', through which it acquires foreign currency to fund the regime and its military programs,” Hosaniak said.
“The goal is religious persecution,” she said, adding that Chinese companies cooperate in this task in a way that is tantamount to human trafficking, and that there is evidence that some Chinese companies are linked with North Korean companies.
North Korea was ranked No. 1 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
As previously reported, China has published a collection of "Christian" hymns praising communists.
