Radio broadcasts into North Korea have been cut by around 80 per cent, leaving the nation’s citizens even more isolated from the world as authorities make the smuggling of unfavourable information into the country a “top priority."
Following several changes in North Korea, including turning off propaganda loudspeakers on their southern border, observers are hopeful that greater ties could be forged with the country's southern neighbours.
The clampdown on foreign broadcasting, which has seen at least six stations closed, has been aided by cooperation with the South. But alongside other increased restrictions, outreach has become more difficult for Christians, according to Open Doors.
Timothy Cho, an Open Doors spokesperson and escapee from North Korea, spoke to en about the nation infamous for its suppression of free information under the iron fist of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Cho emphasised how dangerous life is for Christians, as shown by an early memory.
“When I was 11, I experienced watching a public execution," he said. "The man who was executed, before a large crowd, had been accused of the treason act. His crime was that he had helped three North Korean women cross the border into China, where they received support from a church. For this, the regime branded him a spy.
“In North Korea’s idolatrous system, which deifies the Kim family and indoctrinates the people to regard their history as an absolute scripture akin to the Bible, the Christian faith and the message of God’s gospel and love are considered among the most serious threats to national security. As a result, anyone found practising Christianity is immediately imprisoned, sent to a political prison camp, or, in some cases, subjected to public execution.”
North Korea is consistently ranked at the top of Open Doors’ World Watch List due to its brutal treatment of Christians. And the nation has also tried to erase Christian heritage from its past, Cho revealed.
“Although Kim Il-sung’s parents were devout Christians, and the Kim family has deep religious roots, the North Korean regime has brutally suppressed all expressions of Christianity,” he said. “The history of the Christian faith has been deliberately distorted or erased, and the remaining Christians have been forced underground.”
Concerning the current situation, Cho stressed that some radio stations run by Christian organisations and NGOs have continued to broadcast amidst the recent crackdown, albeit with greater difficulty due to the Northern regime’s interference with live transmissions.
However, he remains unconvinced that inter-Korean dialogue will lead to a substantial change in the relationship between the two nations, describing the turning off of the North’s loudspeakers as “largely symbolic" and likely to have a “minimal” strategic impact.
“Without the promotion of fundamental rights in North Korea, the constitutional aim of a free and democratic Korean reunification under Article 4 of South Korea is unlikely to be realised," he said. "The South Korean government should pursue a reunification-oriented human rights policy that encompasses civil, social and political rights, and is advanced through public consensus and cross-party cooperation.”
