Tag: North Korea

Afghanistan overtakes N Korea as most dangerous place to live as a Christian

January 19, 2022 Afghanistan Boko Haram, Catholics, Churches, Converts, India, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Refugees, Religious freedom

Afghan-women-face-highly restricted lives under the Taliban

After the August 2021 takeover by the Taliban of Afghanistan, the country has overtaken North Korea as the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian, according to the annual World Watch List of the NGO Open Doors International, out today. After 20 years at the top*, North . . . Read More

North Korea asks for food aid as its president discusses denuclearisation

February 26, 2019 North Korea China, Donald Trump, Hanoi, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, South Korea, UN

As with the first round of talks, the conditions that make North Korea the toughest place on earth for Christians won’t be up for discussion. (Photo: Getty Images)

As the leaders of North Korea and the United States are scheduled to meet in Vietnam for a second round of denuclearisation talks, North Koreans continue to flee human rights abuses and increasing food shortages. As with the first round of talks, the conditions that make North Korea the toughest . . . Read More

Gender-based violence used in persecution of global Christian community

January 16, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Somalia, Women

GETTY: Pakistani women protest against twin suicide bombings in Lahore, March 2015

In the five worst of the 2019 World Watch List’s 50 most difficult places to be a Christian (North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Pakistan), vulnerabilities which are linked to men and women’s social status create space for harsh religious persecution, report the List’s analysts at Open Doors International. . . . Read More

Pakistan joins US list of worst religious freedom violators

December 13, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, China, Comoros, Eritrea, Iran, Minorities, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan

Burial of victims of a suicide attack on the Methodist Bethel Church in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday 17 December 2017 in which at least 9 people were killed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan is among the ten countries that appear on the US State Department’s latest list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious-freedom violations, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced in a press statement on Tuesday, 11 December. China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and . . . Read More

UK parliamentary group calls out 27 countries for ‘significant’ religious freedom violations

December 10, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Ahmed Shaheed, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Egypt, Eritrea, Human rights, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tariq Ahmad, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

A church in Bartella, a town near the Iraqi city of Mosul, after Islamic State militants left the area in October 2016. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A “Commentary on the Current State of Freedom of Religion or Belief” presented by a group of British parliamentarians today, 10 December, highlights 27 countries where people’s religious freedom has been denied and abused in the past year. The report, presented by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International . . . Read More

West ‘failing to convert words of concern into action’ against ultra-nationalism

November 23, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Buddhist nationalism, Hindu nationalism, Islamic extremism, Kyrgyzstan, Minorities, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Shia, Sunni

“Ultra-nationalism” promoted by governments and non-state bodies has triggered a rise in hatred against minorities, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Countries where such hatred is on the rise include “key parts of the world” such as China, India, Pakistan and . . . Read More

Life in 70-years-old North Korea ‘is like living in Orwell’s 1984’, says escapee

September 7, 2018 North Korea Communism, Human rights, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea

North Korea is preparing to celebrate its 70th anniversary while the majority of its population faces multiple challenges every day, including food shortages and human rights violations. (Photo: ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)

As North Korea prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary this weekend with a military parade and “Mass Games”, its population lives in perpetual war (the 1953 Korean War has never officially ended), under government surveillance and with a propaganda machine controlled by the national leader’s personality cult. The reality is . . . Read More

Korean reunification would not resemble German experience, says theologian

August 21, 2018 Churches, Germany, North Korea, South Korea

A fence at Imjingak park, on the South Korean side, that separates the country from its northern neighbour. It's filled with ribbons with prayers and wishes for North Korea and reunification written on them. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The reunification of North and South Korea would not be similar to that of East and West Germany, according to a German theologian. “The division between North and South Korea is already of much longer duration than the German division, and it goes much deeper. In the beginning there was . . . Read More

US envoy supports Sudan’s removal from ‘sponsors of terrorism’ list

July 10, 2018 Sudan North Korea, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Terrorism, USA

US charge d'affaires in Sudan, Steven Koutsis, in the harbour of Port Sudan on the red sea coast, as a US ship is unloading humanitarian aid supplies provided by the US development agency, on 5 June 2018. (Photo: ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

The US charge d’affaires in Khartoum has told Sudan that he will channel “all … energy and focus” into having Sudan removed from the US’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, reports AFP. Steven Koutsis, speaking during the 4 July celebration at the embassy in the Sudanese capital, welcomed Sudan’s . . . Read More

North Korea tells US to drop ‘anachronistic human rights racket’

July 9, 2018 North Korea Bibles, Donald Trump, Human rights, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, Prisons, Religious freedom, Torture, USA

North Korea has called on the United States to stop its “anachronistic human rights racket” as talks continue between the two countries, AP reports. The US House of Representatives recently promised that “complete, verifiable, and irreversible human rights improvements” in North Korea were a necessary part of any deal, while . . . Read More

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