The whole world was watching the historic summit in Singapore this week when the President of the USA and the North-Korean head of state met.

Everybody was talking about “peace” and “denuclearisation”, but according to Éric Foley,  the representative for ‘The Voice of Martyrs of North-Korea’, these moves will not be enough to help the plight of  North-Korean Christians.

For many nations, this meeting, which was unimaginable some months ago,  brings hope. But the fact remains that for decades in North-Korea, political leaders have deprived the citizens of their fundamental rights. Today, most people are afraid that Kim Jong-Un’s latest peace efforts will not improve the lot of the population and do little or nothing for the lives of North-Korean Christians.

According to Foley,  if renewal and reform are to happen, the country must recognise that both individuals and groups have been responsible for the abuses and atrocities committed in this part of the Korean peninsula.

“Although for the United States these last conversations were important given the nuclear weapons issue, the [internal] problems of North-Korea started decades ago. The first ten years of the Kim dynasty brought about the systematic extermination of Christians,” says Foley.

Going beyond the peace and security, the Christians of North-Korea pray for the repentance of their country’s leader. “I think it’s the best thing that the North-Korean Christians can do at this moment in time,” comments Éric Foley, who goes on to state: “We are inclined to say; ‘ah, it’s not realistic and they don’t achieve anything with their prayers. Rather, North-Korea should develop economically and destroy their nuclear weapons.’ But these are not Christian thoughts, and the North-Korean Christians don’t think like this. It’s not the economy that has to change, but the mentality of the North-Korean leaders.”

Translator: Ildikó Ungvári

Source: Infochrétienne