Christians in North Korea Scalded With Molten Iron

I didn't know there were any Christians in North Korea. If Kim Jong Il gets his way, there won't be. Here's your weekend must-read, from World Magazine. Goes behind the firewall in a week or so, so get it while it's hot:

On both sides of the border, Dobbs heard horror stories from underground Christians about recent North Korean persecution. Executions and torture may occur in large part in North Korea's prison camp—the gulag holds an estimated 200,000 political prisoners—but they also happen in public. Dobbs gleaned one estimate that the regime kills 300 people a year for their faith. Other well-connected activists report arrests of Christians were higher last year than in 2005, with perhaps 50,000 believers languishing in prison.

Some examples of persecution that Dobbs learned about:

In one prison, a warden hung a Christian man upside down and ordered him to deny his beliefs. Eventually the warden stabbed at him and pushed him to the ground, ordering 6,000 prisoners to trample him to death.
Eight prisoners stayed silent when told to deny the existence of heaven, so an infuriated prison official ordered other inmates to pour molten iron over them.
Some reports say Christian prisoners are deliberately crippled so they cannot walk; others are left naked and so starved they eat the rats scampering in their prison cells raw.

On your way to your free church please notice how you are not being shot by the secret police, and please say a prayer for those who are.