A Christian woman accused of distributing the Bible, a book banned in communist North Korea, was publicly executed last month for the crime, South Korean activists said yesterday.
The 33-year-old mother of three, Ri Hyon Ok, also was accused of spying for South Korea and the United States, and of organizing dissidents, a rights group said in Seoul, citing documents obtained from the North.
The Investigative Commission on Crime Against Humanity report included a copy of Ri's government-issued photo ID and said her husband, children and parents were sent to a political prison the day after her execution on June 16.
The claim could not be independently verified yesterday, and there has been no mention by the North's official Korean Central News Agency of her case.
But it would mark a harsh turn in the crackdown on religion in North Korea, a country where Christianity once flourished and where the capital, Pyongyang, was known as the "Jerusalem of the East" for the predominance of the Christian faith.
According to its constitution, North Korea guarantees freedom of religion. But in reality, the regime severely restricts religious observance, with the cult of personality created by national founder Kim Il Sung and enjoyed by his son, current leader Kim Jong Il, serving as a virtual state religion. Those who violate religious restrictions often are accused of crimes such as spying and anti-government activities.
The government has authorized four state churches: one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox. However, they cater to foreigners only, and ordinary North Koreans cannot attend the services.
Still, more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to practice Christianity in hiding -- at great personal risk, defectors and activists say.
The U.S. State Department said in a report last year that "genuine religious freedom does not exist" in North Korea.
Ri reportedly was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon -- near the border with China.
The South Korean rights report also said North Korean security agents arrested and tortured another Christian, Seo Kum Ok, 30, near Ryongchon. She also was accused of spying.
(From Associated Press)
