Tensions rising as North Korea blows up South Korea links; troops reported in Russia

North Korea (MNN) — Threats and postures of intimidation are nothing new coming from North Korea. But this time, the hermit nation is throwing weight behind its words.

North Korea recently blew up parts of roads and rail lines connecting to South Korea and built blockades.

“This is a real change in relationships between North and South Korea,” says Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

“Since the inception of the countries and the end of the Korean War, North Korea has always had, as its stated goal, the reunification of the Korean peninsula under North Korean leadership, the leadership of the Kim family.

As evidenced by the severed cross-border ties, Foley says, “Now North Korea has changed that goal…. It no longer wants to reunite with South Korea. It says it’s a separate country, a separate people, an alien group, a puppet of the United States, and something that is outside of North Korea’s goals for the future.”

At the same time, North Korea has sent troops to Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine. With the potential for North Korean troops to come back with modern combat experience, it’s significantly straining relations with South Korea.

South Korea, for its part, has only supplied Ukraine with humanitarian aid but refrained from sending lethal weapons. However, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed that if North Korean troops go to fight in Ukraine in cooperation with Russia, South Korea would consider arming Ukraine with defensive weapons and even possibly offensive weapons.

Despite the rising pressure on the Korean Peninsula, Foley reminds believers of our Gospel mission: There are still souls at stake.

“The opportunities are still there for Gospel ministry today. Even though the North Korean government says you can’t reach our people, the Word of God says that the Word of God is not bound.”

VOM Korea sends 40,000 Bibles a year into North Korea. Today, miraculously, it’s estimated up to 8% of North Koreans have seen a Bible with their own eyes.

“God still finds ways to reach ordinary North Korean people through radio broadcasts like ours which air four times a day, and through the Bibles that we send by land, sea, and air.”

Various methods of secretly reaching North Koreans with the Gospel could face further criticism and censorship from South Korea out of fear of antagonizing their northern neighbors. South Korea had temporarily banned private citizens from launching balloons (including those carrying Scripture leaflets) over the border. The law was later struck down by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in September 2023.

“It’s important to remember that balloon launching is not a recent phenomenon in South Korea. It goes back to 1969 and in fact, even earlier,” says Foley.

“Various political parties have made efforts to ban balloon launching in an effort to appease North Korea. But no activity [by] the South Korean government…has so far resulted in the appeasement of North Korea.”

Foley asks, “Pray against a spirit of fear, both on the part of the ordinary people – the North and South Korean people – the governments of those two countries, as well as Christians.”

Ask God to open doors for the Gospel into North Korea, and to ultimately change hearts through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Roman Harak/Flickr under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/