Life and death: Son Jong Nam in North Korea

On Wednesday of this week, North Korea added its voice to the calls for Taliban forces in Afghanistan to release their 21 remaining South Korean hostages, who were kidnapped while on a Christian charitable mission there. The deputy director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying, "We hope that South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan could return home safely." He added, "It is the consistent stance that our republic is opposed to all kinds of terrorism."

Also on Wednesday, Crosswalk.com reported (on behalf of Voice of the Martyrs) that former North Korean army officer Son Jong Nam is on death row in North Korea, facing public execution by Kim Jong-il's government for his evangelistic activities. Mr. Son was sentenced to death for being a "national traitor" and "receiving Christianity." (A similar report about Mr. Son's case is available here.)

So I ask you, President Kim: do you really value Koreans' lives? Why should you urge the Taliban to spare South Korean Christians, when you sentence your own citizens to death simply for confessing that same Christ?

If you would like to do something tangible to support our brother Son Jong Nam, you can do so by going to Voice of the Martyrs' prisoner advocacy website to find out how to pray for Mr. Son, how to write to him, or how to write to North Korean officials to ask for his release.