US President Donald Trump has revealed that plans are underway to help Christians who are facing persecution in North Korea.
During a press conference following the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Trump said that the plight of Christians was brought up during the meeting.
'It will be worked on. Christians, yes. We brought it up. Franklin Graham spent and spends a tremendous amount of time in North Korea. He has it close to his heart. It did come up and things will be happening. Great question,' the President said in reply to a reporter's question about Christians in North Korea.
Trump vowed that 'things will be happening,' and that he was prepared 'to start a new history' between North Korea and the US.
CBN News reported that Graham has spoken directly with the President about the situation of Christians in North Korea.
As part of his work in leading the charity Samaritan's Purse, Graham has reportedly made four trips to the nation to provide aid to North Koreans.
Graham said that he is 'very optimistic' about the summit between Kim and Trump, and he believes that the meeting will help ease the regime's persecution of Christians.
David Curry, president of the persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, said that Trump's decision to bring up human rights issues during the summit was 'diplomatically bold.'
"[W]e are particularly glad to hear the President say he brought up the plight of the more than 300,000 Christians who face persecution and even death under the regime of Kim Jong Un," Curry said in a press release.
North Korea has been ranked in the Open Doors World Watch List as the 'No.1 most dangerous place to be a Christian' for 17 consecutive years.
The watchdog said that there are between 50,000 to 120,000 Christians who are incarcerated in the regime's prison camps.
A North Korean Christian who goes by the name John Choi said that believers are being detained in the regime's prison camps and are being used for chemical weapons tests.
He further said that the North Korean government has carried out public executions of Christians.
He explained that escape from North Korea is getting more difficult due to strict surveillance at the border.
Choi told Premier that the plight of Christians is increasingly getting worse, but the summit has given him hope that Kim will try to improve the human rights situation in the country because he wants to boost the economy.
