Mar week2, 2025 Prayer for North Korea
1. North Korea Expands Nursing Homes, Mobilizing Elderly for Regime Propaganda—Residents Disapprove
A scene from mid-April 2020 in Kim Jong-suk County, Yanggang Province, where an elderly person is seen picking through a pile of garbage.
▶ ▶ Article Summary
As the elderly population in North Korea increases, nursing homes, which were previously established at the provincial, city, and county levels, are now being set up even at the village level, leading to a nationwide expansion of such facilities.
A nursing home established at the ri level in Kwaksan County, North Pyongan Province, currently accommodates eight elderly individuals. It has been reported that these residents receive food, daily necessities, and medical support free of charge, and they seem to be relatively satisfied with their situation.
However, the North Korean authorities are using these elderly individuals as tools for regime propaganda, leading to criticism from many residents. According to a source, the elderly at the nursing homes are regularly mobilized for regional lectures and gatherings to promote socialism and the leader’s policies of caring for the people. The source added, “Many residents express their pity and sadness upon seeing these frail elderly individuals being used for such propaganda activities.”
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March 5, 2025 – Daily NK? Read the full article: https://url.kr/fxu5ww
▶ ▶ Prayer Topics
“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” (Psalm 12:5)
2. "Thought It Was a Golf Course, but It's Armed? Suspicious Activity in Pyongyang"
"There are indications that North Korea has constructed a new long-range missile base disguised as a golf course in the Pyongyang area."
▶ ▶ Article Summary
There are indications that North Korea has constructed a new long-range missile base disguised as a golf course in the Pyongyang area. The Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ Nonproliferation Research Center analyzed satellite images and identified the suspected missile base near the former site of Kim Jong Un's luxurious "Ryeokpo Palace," which was demolished in April last year.
To accommodate heavy launch vehicles, North Korea paved concrete over a valley last summer and covered it with grass, creating circular putting greens and bunkers to mimic a golf course. The satellite images reveal seven circular concrete platforms in the valley, with two larger central ones resembling launch pads. Additionally, a large structure, likely designed to store multiple mobile launch platforms for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), was detected. Experts suggest that this facility was built not just for test launches but for operational missile deployment, indicating that it may serve as an active base for ICBMs or intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs).
In March 2023, North Korea constructed a similar circular missile launch site camouflaged as a golf course, where it conducted tests of the Hwasong-18, a new ICBM, and the Hwasong-19 in 2023 and 2024.
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March 7, 2025 – YTN? Read the full article: https://url.kr/927cyk
▶ ▶ Prayer Topics
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)
3. "North Korea to Russia: 'No to South Korea'... Captured North Korean Soldiers May Go to the U.S."
Private Baek (21, left), who served in the North Korean military for 4 years, and reconnaissance/sniper soldier Ri (26), who served for 10 years, were deployed to Kursk, Russia, between October and November last year.
▶ ▶ Article Summary
As the South Korean government seeks to bring two North Korean soldiers, who were captured by Ukrainian forces after being deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, to South Korea, reports suggest that both the U.S. and Russia may intervene in the decision.
If Russia, under pressure from Kim Jong Un’s regime, strongly opposes their transfer to South Korea during ceasefire negotiations with the U.S., American intelligence agencies are considering an alternative plan to take them to the U.S. for debriefing. This raises concerns that their fate might be decided regardless of their personal wishes to come to South Korea.
U.S. intelligence agencies have intercepted communications between Russia and North Korea regarding these captured soldiers. North Korea, which has been keeping its military deployment to Russia a secret, has reportedly urged Russia to prevent their transfer to South Korea. Russia has responded positively to North Korea’s request.
Given the high intelligence value of these prisoners, the U.S. has been considering bringing them in since their capture last year to gain insights into both North Korean and Russian military operations. Former President Trump, who is keen on ending the Ukraine war swiftly and making progress on North Korean denuclearization, is expected to have the final say in their fate.
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March 6, 2025 – Chosun Ilbo? Read the full article: https://url.kr/xc9ot3
▶ ▶ Prayer Topics
"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter." (Proverbs 24:11)
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