Sep_week1 2025 NK Prayer

1. “Korean broadcasts moved me”… Kang Gyuri, a woman in her 20s who defected by sailing a wooden boat across the NLL

On October 24, 2023, off the coast of Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea, the Coast Guard towed a small wooden boat carrying four North Korean residents, including Ms. Kang Gyuri, to a nearby military base.

▶ ▶ Article Summary
In October 2023, Ms. Kang Gyuri sailed a small wooden boat across the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea to defect to South Korea. Wanting to earn more money in North Korea, she had managed to buy a shellfish-diving boat in her early 20s, became the owner herself, hired five fishermen, and made a living collecting and selling shellfish.
Her decision to defect was prompted by South Korean broadcasts she watched in real time. Though she risked execution and her family being punished under the guilt-by-association system if caught, she said, “It was worth it.” She cannot forget then-President Park Geun-hye’s October 2016 speech urging North Korean residents to come freely to South Korea.
Ultimately, she was convinced after hearing testimony from another defector, Ms. Lee Soon-sil, and persuaded her mother and aunt to come with her.
This past May, she testified at a high-level plenary meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York on North Korean human rights abuses. She recounted how her entire family had been banished from Pyongyang to the countryside when she was five because her grandmother practiced folk religion, and how her friends were executed for watching South Korean dramas.
When North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Sung rebutted her testimony with harsh, insulting remarks, she said: “At first, I was furious at his words, but soon I just felt sorry for him. If he doesn’t act that way at the UN, he’ll be punished once he returns to North Korea.”
She also expressed a desire to one day work at the UN, and hoped that her friends left behind in North Korea would endure firmly until the day of reunification.
[Aug 24, 2025. BBC Korea / Read article: https://buly.kr/CLzvPzS]

▶ ▶ Prayer Topics
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” (Proverbs 31:8)

• Two years ago, Ms. Kang Gyuri defected with her family by sailing a wooden boat across the East Sea NLL, after deciding to do so because of South Korean broadcasts she had watched in real time. May our government, in respecting the right of North Korean residents—who are constitutionally our citizens—to know the truth, resume the broadcasting to North Korea that was recently suspended. May the channels that inform North Koreans of outside news be restored.
• May defectors continue to courageously inform the international community about North Korea’s human rights atrocities. May the international community pay greater attention and raise its voice so that the human rights of North Koreans, who suffer under the hereditary dictatorship of Kim Jong-un, may truly improve.
• May our brothers and sisters in the North not lose hope but endure faithfully until the day of reunification. Until the day comes when they can freely believe in Jesus through a gospel-centered reunification, may their lives and health be protected and preserved.

2. Six Americans Referred to Prosecutors for Attempting Missionary Work Toward North Korea… Controversy Over Restricting North Koreans’ Right to Know

▶ ▶ Article Summary
Six Americans have been referred to prosecutors on charges of attempting to send bottles filled with rice and Bibles across to North Korea from Ganghwa Island, Incheon. Since November last year, Ganghwa County has enforced an administrative order completely banning the distribution of leaflets and supplies toward the North.
On August 26, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Investigation Unit sent the six Americans, in their 20s to 50s, to the prosecutors without detention, charging them with violating the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety. They testified that their actions were missionary in nature, saying, “We wanted to deliver Bibles to the North Korean people.”
This case has sparked debate, as missionary work and humanitarian aid stemming from religious convictions are being treated as punishable offenses. Critics point out that North Koreans, who already live in an environment where access to outside information and religious freedom are strictly blocked, are being doubly deprived of their right to know and their human rights. Experts add: “North Korean people are fundamentally deprived of both freedom of religion and the right to access information. This case should be approached not merely as a legal violation but from a human rights perspective.”
[Aug 27, 2025. Christian Daily / Read article: https://buly.kr/jZugAR]

▶ ▶ Prayer Topics

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” (Philippians 1:29)

• On August 26, six Americans were referred to prosecutors for attempting to send bottles filled with rice and Bibles to North Korea from Ganghwa Island, Incheon. May the Lord protect them, and may this case be handled from a human rights perspective.
• In 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law banning the sending of propaganda leaflets to North Korea was unconstitutional, as it excessively infringed on freedom of expression. Nevertheless, under current law, administrative orders still prohibit the distribution of leaflets and supplies toward the North. May the Lord oversee this issue so that sound public opinion may form, and may our government reestablish proper legal standards regarding this matter.
• May the day of gospel-centered reunification come quickly, when our brothers and sisters in the North will be free to read the Bible and believe in Jesus in a democratic society of freedom.

3. About 30 North Korean Soldiers Crossed the Military Demarcation Line… But the South Korean Military Stayed Silent for Four Days

On August 19, over 30 North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the South but returned to the North after South Korean forces fired warning shots. This fact only became known later, when on August 23 North Korea released a statement condemning the South’s warning shots as a “grave provocation.”

▶ ▶ Article Summary
At the time, the South Korean military followed protocol by broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots when the platoon-sized North Korean unit crossed the line. While the military does not disclose 100% of incidents along the armistice line, its silence effectively allowed North Korea to issue its accusatory statement unchecked.
Criticism has arisen that the military leadership remained quiet out of consideration for President Lee Jae-myung’s pacifying stance toward North Korea. The UN Command confirmed: “The ROK military issued several warning broadcasts, but the North Korean soldiers ignored them. The South Korean military then fired warning shots at designated locations, and the soldiers returned to the North.”
Meanwhile, controversy has also surrounded the handling of North Korea’s loudspeaker operations. Last month, when North Korea appeared to dismantle some of its anti-South broadcasts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff quickly publicized it. However, when North Korea later reinstalled and even expanded the loudspeakers, this was not disclosed. President Lee stated, “The North has dismantled some of its loudspeakers,” to which Kim Yo-jong responded: “We have never dismantled them and have no intention of doing so.”
Since declaring a “hostile two-state relationship,” North Korea has been working to “border-ize” the MDL, repeatedly crossing it under this pretext, prompting South Korean forces to respond with warning broadcasts and shots.
[Aug 24, 2025. Chosun Ilbo / Read article: https://buly.kr/Cpdjju]

▶ ▶ Prayer Topics
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

• Over 30 North Korean soldiers crossed the MDL but returned after South Korea’s warning shots. The incident only came to light four days later through the North’s statement. Some criticize that this happened because the military leadership was conscious of President Lee Jae-myung’s pacifying policy toward the North. May the commanders responsible for national security carry out their duties with wisdom, strategy, faithfulness, and responsibility.
• Grant wisdom and discernment to the president and officials, so they may pursue proper policies toward North Korea and unification.
• Lord, bring an end to the divided Korean Peninsula, where North and South Korean soldiers face each other at gunpoint. May gospel-centered reunification under freedom and democracy come quickly.