Those who identify as Christians are facing unacceptable conditions as a result of their involvement in activities that are considered ‘anti-state.’

China has subjected hundreds of North Koreans to atrocities since last year by returning them against their will to a country whose leaders hold that religion, especially Christianity, is the greatest threat to its power, experts said at a recent U.S. hearing.

Torture, sexual violence, enslavement, and murder await those repatriated from China to detention centers in North Korea of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, investigations have shown.

Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of HRNK, stated that both religious beliefs, particularly Christianity, and South Korea are the sole challenges to the Kim regime’s complete power monopoly during the U.S. hearing. Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Sept. 26. Christianity presents a unique way of living that discredits tyranny and surpasses oppression.

Hanna Song from the NKDB revealed during the hearing that, despite the known risks, the Chinese government has been forcing a sizable portion of North Koreans to return to North Korea from China since last year.

“Upon returning to North Korea, one of the first questions authorities will ask them is whether they have met with a missionary during their time in China,” Song said. This question is not simply a formality.

The severity of the consequences hinges on the individual’s response. Those who openly acknowledge their encounters with a Christian missionary or are discovered to have had such interactions often endure imprisonment and the potential to experience torture.

Upon their forced return, North Koreans discover that their interactions with religious figures in China can have lifelong consequences, exacerbating an already dire situation and causing extreme suffering, according to her.

“The international community must urgently act to address these forced repatriations and the inhumane consequences awaiting those sent to North Korea.”

During the hearing, Joanna Hosaniak, the deputy director general of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korea Human Rights (NKHR), delivered a presentation on the segregation of detainees in China suspected of having religious affiliations from those repatriated back to North Korea.

Hosaniak emphasizes the importance of considering this persecution in a broader context. In straightforward terms, the leadership of North Korea is conducting an illegal operation that involves the enslavement of civilians for manufacturing goods for international trade.

By doing this, they can gain foreign currency to support the regime and its military initiatives.

She mentioned that security forces-run prisons and detention facilities are the places where this form of slavery occurs.

“China continually supplies slaves for detention facilities,” Hosaniak said.

The political prison camps, primarily managed by the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and the long-term prisons overseen by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) serve as significant production facilities for the manufacturing of export goods, such as textiles and counterfeit eyelashes labeled as ‘Made in China.’

Hosaniak said testimonies from refugees revealed China was using facial recognition technology to track down migrants in China and that officials rewarded those who reported people aiding them.

Chinese authorities share North Korea’s desire to punish those of religious belief, she said, saying that if Chinese officials were merely arresting illegal migrants, they wouldn’t also interrogate them about whom they met and whether they’re trying to escape.

She articulated that the aim is to persecute individuals based on their religious beliefs. She highlighted the involvement of Chinese companies in this pursuit, drawing a comparison to human trafficking. Additionally, there is evidence of connections between Chinese and North Korean companies.

Scarlatoiu noted that denial of human rights, indoctrination, information control, and the regime’s “apocalyptic weapons program” take priority over the human rights, welfare, and human security of its citizens.

“The Kim family regime is a criminal organization masquerading as a sovereign state,” he said. “This is a regime that holds an absolute monopoly on political power through oppression unparalleled in the contemporary world.”

Despite life-threatening dangers, overwhelming coercion, extensive surveillance, and severe punishment, churches have been growing in North Korea with the help of outside missionaries and churches, he added.

Human rights must have a more significant role in U.S. policy due to the connection between rights violations and the regime’s threat to the broader world, he said.

“The very nature of the regime armed with nuclear weapons that commit crimes against humanity is a threat to regional and international peace and security,” Scarlatoiu said.

The link between North Korea’s human rights abuses and the risks they pose to global peace and security is undeniable, highlighting the importance of emphasizing the connection between human rights and protection.

The NKDB’s findings revealed that nearly all North Korean refugees (99.6 percent) stated that they were unaware of any religious practices in their country.

As the regime puts three family generations into prison if even one relative is convicted of “treason” for practicing their faith, the resultant self-silencing means grandchildren do not know that their grandparents were Christians descended from generations of believers.

Song said the regime uses all measures possible to frame “crimes” of personal conscience as anti-state or treason in the HRNK’s submission to the U.N.

In the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of North Korea in April, the committee found that about 160,000 people were detained in political prisons for “political crimes” as of 2020.

An inquiry by an international commission of judges found prisoners were subject to “murder, extermination, enslavement, forcible transfer, imprisonment or severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts,” according to the HRNK submission.

“Extensive evidence showed that DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] officials detain individuals for illegitimate reasons, such as exercising basic human rights,” it added.

Commissioner Meir Soloveichik of USCIRF expressed a desire to explore ways of supporting prisoners.

According to Hosaniak from the NKHR, international advocacy has improved conditions for prisoners and increased their chances of survival when their names are known, which is a difficult accomplishment.

Scarlatoiu mentioned improved collaboration between the government, NGOs, and religious groups in advocating for detainees.

North Korea topped Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List as the most brutal place for Christians.