[imText1]“Let’s pray for North Korean human rights! Let’s gather at the Chinese Embassy!”
Formed by a national Christian organization and Korean churches, on the 19th a 5 day ‘Relay prayer meeting urging the discontinuation of forced reparation of North Korean defectors’ began, proclaiming a ‘Week of world prayer for North Korea.’
Under the leadership of UK’s Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Korean national participants of the week of prayer, occurring simultaneously around the world, include Yoido’s Full Gospel Church (Senior Pastor Cho Yong Gi), Christian Social Responsibility (Co-representative, Suh Kyung Suk), 50 churches and 30 Christian organizations.
The first day of prayer commenced on the morning of the 19th, where prayer meetings were held outside the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and the Chinese Consulate in Pusan.
On the first day of prayer, participating organizations held ‘An Opening Service,’ and announced a proclamation to the Chinese Ambassador to Korea and China’s President Hu Juntao, urging the discontinuation of forced reparation of North Korean defectors.
In addition, senior pastors of each church praying with the topic ‘Starving refugees persecuted for idol worship’ requested the North Korean government to try and improve human rights for the people of North Korea.
In their proclamation they claimed that “If defectors are forced to repatriate to North Korea, there is evidential proof from numerous survivors that they are sacrificed to brutal persecution and violation of human rights” and urged that “China grant refugee status to defectors who are suffering from serious violations of human rights.”
Furthermore, it was revealed that “Nearly 20,000 or so defectors who after having escaped from North Korea to China, live in fear of being coercively repatriated to North Korea and are treated less than human” and that “Churches around the world will unite closely and urge the Chinese government to stop forced repatriation to North Korea.”
Representative Suh Kyung Suk of Christian Social Responsibility said “Though some Christian organizations are disregarding North Korean human rights, it is the most important movement in the North Korean human rights movement” and asserted that “China, with the upcoming Olympics needs to increase the pressure on human rights and block forced repatriation to North Korea.”
On this day, defector Lee Young Ok (51, entry in 2003) attended as a person giving testimony, professed that “Prison living at Chinese Tuman is more ghastly than that of an animal” and that “China needs to guarantee defector human rights, and above all stop forced repatriation to North Korea.”
The pray meeting is conducted by each church and organization beginning at 8 AM until 8 PM, 12 hours a day, totaling 60 hours in all. The final day of relay prayer is on the 23rd, when all participating churches will gather at 7 PM for a candle lit assembly.
Internationally, under the leadership of the U.S. Midland Korean Churches Confederation, a 24-hour relay prayer meeting will commence on the 19th until the 25th in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. In the UK, on the afternoon of the 22nd, a demonstration will commence in front of the Chinese Embassy in London and a prayer gathering is planned for the 24th at St. Michael’s Church.
