Activists claim Christian executed in North Korea
North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists claimed today.
Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the US and organising dissidents.
She was executed in the north-western city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16, according to a report from an alliance of several dozen anti-North Korea groups.
Ms Ri’s parents, husband and three children were sent to a political prison camp in the north-eastern city of Hoeryong the following day, reports said, citing unidentified documents it says were obtained from North Korea. It showed a copy of Ri’s North Korean government-issued photo ID.
Yesterday, an annual report from a state-run South Korean think tank on human rights in the North said that public executions, though dropping in number in recent years, were still carried out for crimes ranging from murder to circulating foreign movies.
North Korea claims to guarantee freedom of religion for its 24 million people.
The government has authorised four state churches, one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox, but they cater to foreigners and ordinary North Koreans cannot attend. However, defectors and activists say more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to practice Christianity secretly.
“North Korea appears to have judged that Christian forces could pose a threat to its regime,” Do Hee-youn, a leading activist, told reporters, claiming public executions, arrest and detention of North Koreans are prevalent.
