North Korea

Aglow Status: No Aglow activity

Capital: Pyongyang

Pray:

Declare Heaven’s intervention in the diplomatic meetings North Korea is having with the leaders of the USA, South Korea and China.

• Proclaim that these meetings result in liberty, wholeness and prosperity for the people of North Korea.
• Pray for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

Threat

• Pray for the volatile situation of the threat of nuclear power in North Korea.
• Pray that all aspects of the threat and any strategies of destruction are exposed and thwarted.
• North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. Pray that strategies to use this army for the destruction of other nations are exposed and stopped.

Citizens

• Pray for the citizens of North Korea.
• Pray for truth to set them free from years of deception, indoctrination and isolation.
• Pray for many who live in poverty and malnutrition.

Christians

• Pray for protection, comfort and encouragement for Christians in North Korea.
• North Korea is considered the most oppressive place in the world for Christians. Pray for hope.
• Pray for believers who are in prison for their faith.
• Pray the gospel flourishes and brings hope.
• Pray for access to Bibles.

Kim Jong-Un

• Pray that God would open Kim Jong-Un’s eyes to the surpassing glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Pray that he is open to wise council, diplomacy and negotiation.
• Pray that his eyes are open to the suffering of the people of his nation.
• Declare truth – truth that sets him free of every spiritual bondage and deception.

Proclaim:

• Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:1,2 (NKJV)
• Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah Psalm 24:9-10 (NKJV)

Interesting Facts About North Korea

Background: An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored communist control.

After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic “self-reliance” as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang’s control. KIM Il Sung’s son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father’s successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM’s death in 1994. Under KIM Jong Il’s rein, the DPRK continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father’s successor in 2010. Following KIM Jong Il’s death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has since occupied the regime’s highest political and military posts.

After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has faced chronic food shortages and economic stagnation. In recent years, the North’s domestic agricultural production has increased, but still falls far short of producing sufficient food to provide for its entire population. The DPRK began to ease restrictions to allow semi-private markets, starting in 2002, but has made few other efforts to meet its goal of improving the overall standard of living. North Korea’s history of provocative regional military; proliferation of military-related items; long-range missile development; WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017; and large conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community and have limited the DPRK’s international engagement, particularly economically. In 2013, the DPRK declared a policy of simultaneous development of its nuclear weapons program and economy. In late 2017, KIM Jong Un declared the North’s nuclear weapons development complete. In 2018, KIM announced a pivot towards diplomacy, including a re-prioritization of economic development, a pause in missile testing beginning in late 2017, and a refrain from anti-US rhetoric starting in June 2018. Since 2018, KIM has participated in four meetings with Chinese President XI Jinping, three with ROK President MOON Jae-in, and three with US President TRUMP. Since 2019, North Korea has continued developing its ballistic missile program and issued statements condemning the US.

Government Type: dictatorship, single-party state; official state ideology of “Juche” or “national self-reliance”

Population: 25,831,360 (July 2021 est.)

Ethnic Groups: racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese

Languages: Korean

Religions: traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)

Interesting Facts information from the cia.gov website. Read more about North Korea