Son Jong Nam.
LOCATION: North Koreai
ARRESTED: January 2006ii
DIED: December 2008iii
“From 1973 to 1983, he served in the Korean People's Army as part of the presidental security service, rising to the rank of master sergeant...” “In 1997, his wife, pregnant with their second child, was arrested for allegedly insulting Kim Jong-il's mismanagement of the economy and blaming him for the North Korean famine.”iv
“In January 1998, Son took his wife and daughter and fled North Korea...”v This lead to his conversion to Christianity. “After becoming a Christian, Son began helping the missionary try to convert other North Koreans hiding in China.”vi
“Son returned to North Korea with bibles and cassette tapes in an effort to proselytise people in his home country. However, in January 2006, police found the bibles at his home in Hoeryong and arrested him again. According to his brother, the charges were illegal border crossing, meeting with enemies of the state, and disseminating anti-state literature. Son was imprisoned in the basement of the State Security Department in Pyonyang.”vii
Son Jong Nam spent more than 2 years in prison for returning to North Korea to preach the Gospel.“He risked his life returning to North Korea to preach the gospel. When the Prisoner profile was first posted, Voice Of the Martyrs contacts believed he was still alive, although contact was limited. In 2007 The Voice of the Martyrs made a concerted effort to publicize the arrest and imprisonment of North Korean Christian Son Jong Nam. We have continued to follow Son Jong Nam’s case since that time, in spite of difficulties getting information out of North Korea. Our contacts on the Korean peninsula have informed us that the most recent information leads them to believe that Son Jong Nam has died in prison. We are thankful for all those who prayed for and wrote letters to Son Jong Nam; we are also thankful for his example of faithfulness to Christ. He’s arrived safely Home.”viii
“According to a November 2009 statement from a fellow State Security Department prison inmate, Son died there in December 2008.”ix
As always I encourage readers to seek more information by reading the Bible.
© Ken Glasgow 2010
This page was written using Open Office 3.2.1, open source software from the www.openoffice.org this software is available to download for free.
i19 July 2010, “Son Jong Nam Prisoner Profile”, Prisoner Alert, http://www.prisoneralert.com/qry/vp_prsnprofile.taf?pfilid=176&_nc=8a51eb658a1187163cdc9da436179036
ii19 July 2010, “Son Jong Nam Prisoner Profile”, Prisoner Alert, http://www.prisoneralert.com/qry/vp_prsnprofile.taf?pfilid=176&_nc=8a51eb658a1187163cdc9da436179036
iii8 July 2010, “Son Jong-nam”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Jong-nam
iv8 July 2010, “Son Jong-nam”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Jong-nam
v8 July 2010, “Son Jong-nam”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Jong-nam
viFloyd, 6 July 2010, “Son Jong Nam R.I.P.”, http://www.threedonia.com/archives/26754
vii8 July 2010, “Son Jong-nam”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Jong-nam
viii19 July 2010, “Son Jong Nam Prisoner Profile”, Prisoner Alert, http://www.prisoneralert.com/qry/vp_prsnprofile.taf?pfilid=176&_nc=8a51eb658a1187163cdc9da436179036
ix8 July 2010, “Son Jong-nam”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Jong-nam
