70,000 Christians 'locked in concentration camps'

Sources confirm North Korea has eased or lifted a number of restrictions for citizens since Kim Jong Un succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il.
Kim Jong Il’s tenure as dictator was marked by intense persecution of Christians, including imprisonment of generations of a family for a single individual’s offense and executions.
Bans have been lifted on Western foods such as pizza and french fries, and restrictions on the number of cell phones have been loosened, for example, according to Ryan Morgan, an analyst with International Christian Concern Asia.
“The new ruler has even been uncharacteristically shown on state television, smiling and visiting an amusement park,” Morgan said.
However, whatever secular benefits may have trickled down to residents of the isolated communist nation, there is no evidence of any improvement in the condition of the persecuted church there, he said.
“We have not heard any reports of improvement for Christians in the country and have no reason to believe anything has changed,” Morgan said. “The regime still has up to 70,000 Christians locked away in virtual concentration camps.”
Morgan explained a Christian believer and three generations of his or her family can still go to prison for life just for owning a Bible.
“We’re hoping and praying this changes soon, but we haven’t seen any sign of it yet,” he said.
In fact, recent media reports say Kim Jong Un has moved to restructure the nation’s security apparatus to maintain his control.
Morgan pointed to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stating that the North Korean regime is increasingly viewing refugees with religious beliefs or contacts as “potential security threats.”
The report says the regime is offering rewards for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of individuals involved in distributing Christian literature.
Open Doors USA reports through a source who cannot be named for security reasons that border security is no longer the responsibility of the army.
“The NK secret service has taken over responsibility of guarding the borders from the army. They catch smugglers and force them to spy out Christian networks in China, especially those with ties to refugees,” the Open Doors source said.

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