Seoul: New legislation to prevent Bible trafficking from South Korea to North Korea, which was passed last Friday, makes it a crime to transport Bibles from South Korea to North Korea through balloons, bottles and sea. Most of the Bible-bound balloons are delivered from Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Lee, deputy governor of Gyeonggi, said it would be punishable if the balloon launch was carried out. Korea is a highly barred area for religious freedom.
“The Voice of the Martyrs Korea” (VOM Korea) CEO and pastor Erik Foley said that for the past 15 years, Bibles have been shipped to North Korea through balloons, bottles and seas. He added that the South Korean government’s change of policy over a decade and a half has been “unfortunate” and “a sudden threat to religious freedom.”
“They are not doing this to evangelize North Korea. “Our brothers in North Korea were not doing their God-given job and they were asking for help,” Foley explained. Folly added that no one in North Korea had ever seen the Bible directly before the Bible was smuggled, and now more than eight percent of North Korean people own the Bible. The missionaries are hoping that God will come up with a new plan, even if the means to reach the Word of God are closed.
