North Korea

The United States is calling on North Korea to release a Korean-American Christian sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for crimes against the state.

North Korean officials announced Saturday that detained American citizen Kenneth Bae will be tried before the country's Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

As the world turns its attention to North Korean threats of nuclear war, human rights groups are bringing attention the extensive human rights violations in the country.

North Korean church leaders are asking Christians worldwide to pray for their country amid increased war threats and combat preparation by North Korean military officials.

A fresh set of sanctions agreed by the United Nations this week will impose further restrictions on North Korea and increasingly limit its ability to function in the international community. Christians also could be impacted as uncertainty and threats of attacks against the United States and South Korea increase.

North Korea is in a league of its own when it comes to persecution of Christians. Research estimates there are as many as 70,000 Christians in the country’s gulags out of an estimated 200,000 prisoners.

Open Doors has confirmed the death of two Christians in North Korea. One Christian was recently shot while he was on his way back to Bible training in China, and the other died in one of North Korea's notorious labor camps.

I am thankful for the lessons I have learned from persecuted Christians, especially on their observance of Christmas. They return to the true heart of the Christmas message: God sending his Son into the world to be born, die for our sins and return to His heavenly home. No Christmas trees, mall visits, substituting "holiday" for "Christmas."

North Korea's successful rocket launch is putting an end to some of the mystery surrounding its new leader, Kim Jong Un, with many world leaders saying he is now proving to be just as provocative as his late father, Kim Jong Il.

The White House called a long-range missile test by North Korea a "highly provocative act" that threatens regional security.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un allows women to wear pants in public, likes to see Mickey Mouse and his friends perform, and experiments with light agricultural reform, but he hasn’t made any essential changes in the first year after his father Kim Jong-Il’s death.

Millions of Christians around the world will unite in prayer for the persecuted church this Sunday (Nov. 11), but the founder of one organization that partners with the North Korean underground church says it's the American church, not the North Korean church, for which North Korean Christians pray with concern.

Though sources confirm North Korea has eased or lifted a number of restrictions -- such as bans on Western foods -- since Kim Jong Un succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, there is no evidence of any improvement in the condition of the persecuted church there.

What happens when North Korean athletes fail to bring home the gold? ABC News reported last week that North Korea offers athletes a carrot-and-stick approach -- televisions, refrigerators and cars for winners, and labor camp sentences for losers.

On July 4, four North Korean defectors now living in South Korea joined a Voice of the Martyrs worker to release 10 balloons into North Korea carrying 45,000 gospel flyers plus their personal written testimonies.

Since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the underground Christian church has faced increased persecution.

"North Korea is the worst place on earth to be a Christian."

As North Korea embraces Kim Jong Il's son and successor, Kim Jong Un, no changes appear likely for Christians.

Two North Korean refugees to China commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ this season. What does their Christmas look like?