Freedom of Religion in North Korea

Freedom Of Religion In North Korea

In North Korea, the Constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief"; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is an atheist state. The US and South Korean governments are the main sources of information of religion in North Korea and the two countries are technically still at war and it has been said that this is just anti-North Korean propaganda.

North Korea is officially an atheist state, and government policy continues to interfere with the individual's ability to choose and to manifest his or her religious belief. The regime continues to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. Recent refugee, defector, missionary, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) reports indicate that religious persons engaging in proselytizing in the country, those who have ties to overseas evangelical groups operating across the border in the People's Republic of China, and specifically, those repatriated from China and found to have been in contact with foreigners or missionaries, have been arrested and subjected to harsh penalties. Refugees and defectors continued to allege that they witnessed the arrests and execution of members of underground Christian churches by the regime in prior years. Due to the country's inaccessibility and the inability to gain timely information, the continuation of this activity remains difficult to verify.