Dec_week2 2025 North Korea Prayer

1. North Korean Defectors in China Suffer Financial Losses... Entrusting Money to Trusted Individuals...

A village near the Tumen River border in Jilin Province, China. The North Korean border region of North Hamgyong Province is visible on the opposite side. / Photo = Daily NK

▶ Article Summary It has been reported that North Korean defectors in China are increasingly suffering financial losses because they cannot retrieve money they entrusted to local Chinese people whom they had trusted. It is pointed out that this situation exploits the vulnerable status of the defectors, who cannot use banks as they are undocumented immigrants and cannot even report the loss of their money. Some defectors, who earn small amounts of money through part-time jobs in restaurants or farms, cannot deposit it in bank accounts and feel uneasy about keeping it in the homes of their Chinese husbands and in-laws, so they reportedly entrust it to trustworthy locals. However, it is explained that these very trusted locals are not returning the money, leading to financial damages. Ms. A, a North Korean defector in her 40s living in Jilin City, Jilin Province, lost 10,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately  1,400 USD or 2.08 million KRW) that she had saved over four years of part-time work after entrusting it to a Chinese man and not getting it back. Similarly, defectors B and C, in their 30s living in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, lost 20,000 Yuan (approximately 4.15 million KRW) and 25,000 Yuan (approximately 3,536 USD or 5.2 million KRW), respectively, after entrusting the money to trusted local Chinese people and not having it returned. A source pointed out, "There are absolutely no mechanisms in place to protect them from such losses, so these incidents are bound to continue to occur."

[ Daily NK, 2025.12.4. / View Article https://buly.kr/DlKYiRl ]

▶ Prayer Title "Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them." (Psalm 12:5, NIV)

• Pray that North Korean defectors in China may be protected from exploitation by fraudulent individuals and that secure, non-exploitative methods (local or international) may be established for them to safely keep their earnings.
• Pray that the Chinese government would stop the practice of forced repatriation and that the international community would press China to grant them temporary legal protection. Pray that China would recognize North Korean defectors as refugees in compliance with international law, granting them basic rights, access to banking, and the ability to report crimes without fear of being detained or sent back to North Korea.
• Pray that the Kim family's three-generation dictatorship—the source of systemic oppression, isolation, and all suffering—may be brought to a swift, peaceful end, with accountability for the cruel policies. Pray for the liberation of the North Korean people from the culture of fear, and that the inflow of outside information would awaken their political consciousness and foster a desire for liberty, democratic governance, and fundamental human dignity.

2. Propaganda Campaign to Follow the Kangdong County Hospital, Promoting the Slogan 'Complete the Construction within the Year it Started'

The North Korean Workers' Party official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on November 20 that the "Kangdong County Hospital completion ceremony for the 'Local Development 20x10 Policy,' which is another remarkable achievement in prospectively expanding and promoting the Party's grand local development program, was grandly held the previous day (the 19th)" with Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un in attendance. / Photo = Rodong Sinmun·News1

▶ Article Summary According to a source, the North Korean Party's Propaganda and Agitation Department has designated the first week of December as a concentrated learning week for all units across the country to emulate the spirit of the Kangdong County Hospital builders. Specifically, the Propaganda and Agitation Department issued a directive during this concentrated learning week in the first week of December to emphasize the phrases "Korean boldness" and "Korean speed," instructing all units to accept the completion of construction projects in the year they began as the standard for implementing Party policy. The directive greatly emphasized that the Kangdong County Hospital was completed just over 280 days after the first shovel broke ground, urging all construction projects to be finished within the corresponding year or, at the very least, to set the completion date for the beginning of the following year to report loyalty to the Party. The source stated, "It was stressed that construction projects started this year must visibly complete the basic work within the year, and they must scientifically calculate and responsibly report to the Party the exact date of completion in the beginning of next year, running forward without a moment to spare." The workers at the construction sites are the ones being pressured the most, expressing strong dissatisfaction with comments such as, "Another push for a 'shock-campaign' deadline has begun," and "They always live in formality and pretense."

[ Daily NK, 2025.12.5. / View Article https://buly.kr/GP3vRFB ]

▶ Prayer Title "They set up kings without my consent; they appointed leaders I did not acknowledge. They made idols of their silver and gold, to their own destruction." (Hosea 8:4, NIV)

• Pray for the physical and mental health and safety of North Korean construction workers who are being subjected to excessive pressure and forced labor.
• Pray that God would intervene to prevent accidents and casualties resulting from the extreme pressure, hurried timelines, and inevitable shoddy construction that results from such politically motivated deadlines.
• Pray that the irrational, inefficient communist economic system—where politically motivated deadlines and propaganda override professional planning and human welfare—will cease to function and collapse.
• Pray for the adoption of a rational, market-based economic system that prioritizes the people's needs, uses scientific planning, respects worker rights, and ensures the sustainable quality of infrastructure.
• Pray for the workers and citizens to be freed from the oppressive culture of forced enthusiasm and loyalty. Pray that their legitimate grievances and dissatisfaction may be openly and safely expressed.
• Pray that the current leadership's focus on self-glorification through symbolic "speed campaigns" would be replaced by leaders who genuinely serve the welfare and prosperity of the North Korean people.

3. 'K-Language Map' on Oxford University Website... Comparing South and North Korean

Oxford University [Photo by Kim Ji-yeon]

▶ Article Summary The 'K-Language Map,' which allows a comparison of South and North Korean languages, has been established on the official website of Oxford University. Professor Jieun Kiaer (Korean name: Cho Ji-eun) of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford University, along with her research team, announced that they posted 240 words linked in English, South Korean, and North Korean, based on the results of interviewing 100 North Korean defectors in the UK and South Korea. The research team confirmed a significant gap in language usage between the two Koreas. A prominent difference is the rare use of emotional expression language in North Korea. Professor Kiaer said, "It is reported that words like 'I love you,' 'I like it,' 'I am happy,' and 'I am joyful' are rarely heard," adding, "The vocabulary 'love' exists, but its usage frequency is almost zero (0)." Due to North Korea's closed operation of the state for 70 years, linguistic change has also been minimal, contrasting greatly with South Korea, where numerous neologisms are created. Another key feature is the much higher use of the Hapsyo-che (formal, deferential style, often ending sentences with '-danikka' or '-da-na-kka') compared to South Korea, reflecting a rigid social environment with strong hierarchy. The research team also noted the ripple effect of the Korean Wave, particularly K-dramas, on the North Korean language, especially the impact on the North Korean MZ generation. Despite massive crackdowns, there is a tendency to view those who use South Korean words as 'trendy' and 'sophisticated.' Researcher Lee Hak-joon said, "North Korea's language has been preserved for 70 years with almost no interference from loanwords or the internet, and the Korean Wave changed that," adding, "North Korea's strong crackdown on watching South Korean dramas is because the disruption of language can be a threat to the regime."

[ Yonhap News, 2025.12.1. / View Article https://buly.kr/3j9Moi2 ]

▶ Prayer Title "...I will restore health to you and heal your wounds," declares the Lord... (Jeremiah 30:17, NIV)

• Pray that the walls of isolation erected by the Kim regime would crumble, allowing South Korean culture, external information, and the truth of the outside world to flow into North Korea through various channels, successfully overwhelming the state propaganda.
• Pray for the protection of North Koreans who are watching K-dramas, listening to foreign media, or using South Korean language. Pray that the cultural momentum toward freedom would continue to grow stronger, fostering a widespread desire for a free, democratic society.
• Pray for the liberation of the North Korean people from the decades of totalitarian rule that has suppressed their right to express diverse and free individual emotions, resulting in a society where words like 'love,' 'joy,' and 'happiness' are rarely used (as noted in the study).
• Pray that the Kim family's three-generation dictatorship—the source of systemic oppression, isolation, and all cultural suppression—may be brought to a swift, peaceful end, and that the North Korean people may be liberated from the culture of fear and servitude.