“I tortured more than six times when I got caught while I was defecting. They made me to sit for an hour with a thick pole between my knees. Then my legs had no strength at all, and I was not able to stand up.” Pastor Jong-hyeok Byun testified at a report on “Human Rights Violations in the Field of North Korean Refugee Missions” hosted by the North Korean Human Rights Association. Pastor Byun got to see a pile of corpses at the homeless (Kotjebbi) Shelter in North Korea and defected from North Korea several times. He emphasized that forced repatriation to North Korea should not happen to any humans. We pray that forced repatriation, torture, and abuse will stop and that North Korean defectors will hear the gospel and be saved.
“But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. 26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 49:25-26, NIV)
Lord, we pray for the North Koreans who escaped from North Korea and wandered abroad. They live in cold and fear with no one to turn to. Father, we ask your protection so that they can dwell in your peace from the fear of forced repatriation. We pray that your mercy and grace embrace them even if in the darkest time of their lives. We praise your name because You are the stronghold and mighty fortress of your children.
We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen