(From Mission Network News, mnnonline.org) North Korea (VOMK) — Voice of the Martyrs Korea announced that it is adding a fifth daily 30-minute broadcast to North Korea. That move comes as most government-sponsored broadcasts into the country by the United States and South Korea have been discontinued. Voice of the Martyrs Korea says that the new broadcast will consist of the sermons of early Korean Christians and an uninterrupted reading of the Bible.
Details about the new broadcast’s time, radio frequency, and launch date are being withheld for security reasons.
Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO, Pastor Eric Foley, says that listening to Christian radio broadcasts is the most common religious activity among North Korean Christians.
“Based on our own religious experiences, we often assume that the most common religious activities of North Korean Christians would be things like gathering together for underground worship services or reading the Bible privately or praying,” said Pastor Foley. “But these kinds of activities are easily detectable by onlookers, because they are distinctly Christian activities. Even prayer is typically done in a certain posture, where the person sits a certain way, holds their hands a certain way, moves a certain way, and concentrates and whispers. On the other hand, listening to foreign radio broadcasts is also illegal, but it’s a far more common activity which is less obviously ‘Christian’ to onlookers, including other family members who may not be Christian.”
According to Pastor Foley, between 14 and 20 percent of North Koreans listen to foreign broadcasts through headphone radios purchased on the gray and black markets. He explains that because listening to such broadcasts can be done overnight in the dark in silence, it remains the primary way that North Koreans are able to access Christian content.
“Each time we meet North Koreans who are new to South Korea, about 30 percent of them have had some previous exposure to Christianity. The primary two means of that exposure cited by North Koreans are Christian radio broadcasts and Christian content sent by balloon,” says Pastor Foley.
To read more about the phenomenal lengths and risks that North Koreans will go to in order to hear the Good News, read the rest of this article from Voice of the Martyrs by clicking this LINK