North Korea, busy in recent weeks launching test missiles, exploding test bombs and warning the world it will respond with a barrage of weapons should it be attacked, is not neglecting its assault on Christianity.

The nation has responded to a campaign to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world with a threatening fax sent to the Christian ministry Voice of the Martyrs.

The organization confirmed an anonymous fax apparently from the North Korean embassy in Finland promises workers affiliated with VOM that "something very bad will happen to you" if the ministry continues a special Gospel project.

North Korea threatens foreign Christians

Warns of 'something bad' for group that sent Gospel via fax

By Bob Unruh

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

North Korea, busy in recent weeks launching test missiles, exploding test bombs and warning the world it will respond with a barrage of weapons should it be attacked, is not neglecting its assault on Christianity.

The nation has responded to a campaign to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world with a threatening fax sent to the Christian ministry Voice of the Martyrs.

The organization confirmed an anonymous fax apparently from the North Korean embassy in Finland promises workers affiliated with VOM that "something very bad will happen to you" if the ministry continues a special Gospel project.

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"This fax is good news," said Todd Nettleton, VOM's director of media development and the author of a book on the history of Christianity in North Korea. "This means that (our) faxes are getting through, and they are being read. It is highly unlikely that this type of response would have been made from an embassy without some approval from Pyongyang."

The Voice of the Martyrs project has sent Gospel messages to as many fax-linked telephone numbers inside North Korea as possible.

Fax from North Korea to Christian ministry

A recent message from VOM said in part:

"The Christian teaching is clear. Communists are men and Christ loves them. So does every man who has the mind of Christ. We love the sinner even though we hate the sin. We know about the love of Christ toward the Communists by our own love toward them. There are Christians in Communist prisons with fifty pounds of chains on their feet, tortured with redhot iron pokers, in whose throats spoonfuls of salt had been forced, being kept afterward without water, starving, whipped, suffering from cold – and praying with fervor for the Communists. This is humanly inexplicable! It is the love of Christ, which was poured out in our hearts."

The message also includes, from the Song of Solomon: "Love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave … many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it."

The message touched a nerve somewhere.

"We know who you are," an English translation of the recent fax states. "We warn you that if you send this kind of dirty fax again something very bad will happen to you. Don't do something you will regret."

The threat came to a VOM-affiliated office just 24 hours after VOM had dispatched its Christian message.

English translation

VOM has been working to reach North Koreans for years, and its efforts have included launching tens of thousands of "Scripture balloons" with a Bible message over what probably is the world's most restricted nation.

"North Korea presents some great challenges, but the Good News of Jesus' love cannot be stopped," said Nettleton. "We simply have to find more creative ways to deliver that message, and the Voice of the Martyrs is committed to doing that."

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