Former North Korean propaganda officer now spreads message of Christ

18 March 2009

Kim Sung Min, keynote speaker for the
2009 Persecuted Church Prayer Conferences

Kim Sung Min, a former propaganda officer for the North Korean Army, is now fighting for the freedom and faith of his home country. The Voice of the Martyrs, a Canadian-based ministry dedicated to glorifying God by serving His Persecuted Church, invites you to attend a special conference in Mississauga, Ontario on March 28 and Edmonton, Alberta on April 4 to hear Mr. Kim's harrowing story of escape from North Korea and discover the hope he sees in the new Underground University.

Once a diehard socialist, Mr. Kim became disillusioned when he saw the lack of freedom and opportunity in North Korea while serving in the military. After defecting, being arrested and escaping again, Mr. Kim began spreading a new message of hope and liberty.

Mr. Kim's eyes were opened to the modern-day Holocaust that was going on around him in North Korea, where Christianity is illegal and even failing to keep a portrait of Kim Jong-Il clean can mean being sent to a political prison camp. Like thousands of other North Koreans, he defected to China. But his newfound Christian faith compelled him to spread that message of hope to his fellow North Koreans. So, he became a prominent freedom fighter and advocate for religious freedom for North Korea.

Mr. Kim founded Free North Korean Radio and now is leading another effort -- training North Korean exiles through Underground University to return to their homeland to serve and grow the North Korean church. Mr. Kim serves as Dean of Underground University in Seoul, South Korea -- a joint project of Seoul USA and The Voice of the Martyrs-Canada.

To learn more about the intense persecution facing Christians in North Korea, click here.

North Korea

Current Ministry Project
VOMC assists in the education and training of North Korean Christians to enable them to reach fellow North Koreans with the Gospel wherever they are found. VOMC also works with proven ministry partners who are broadcasting quality radio programs to equip and encourage believers of the North Korean underground church.

Project Fund: Underground Church
Country Information
Population
26,072,217 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese

Religion (%)
Juche (99) Christian (1)

Leader
Kim Jong-Un (2011)

Government type
Dictatorship, single-party state

Legal system
Based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory

Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for North Korea
Pray for the safety of the country's refugees – including those who are hiding in various parts of China, as they are frequently being hunted by Chinese and North Korean agents. Ask the Lord to also protect and strengthen believers faithfully serving within North Korea, granting them wisdom as they seek ways to effectively communicate the hope of the Gospel so the church can continue to grow. And like the Apostle Paul, may the country's primary political leader, Kim Jong Un, experience a profound life-changing encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ who is longing to extend love, mercy and forgiveness toward him (Acts 9).