109 Gergely Salát 1 CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION IN NORTH KOREA „If you want to trust in a deity, trust the deity of Korea!” Kim Il-Sung Te Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) is one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world, which does not provide its citizens with even minimal level of freedom of religion. Te system is harder against Christians than to other religions, and the country is usually international rankings on the extent of the persecution of Christians. Although the freedom of religion is enshrined in the country’s constitution, it is not respected in practice. At the same time, Christianity is afected by the anti-religious communist traditions of the North Korean regime. According to the nationalist state ideology, Christians are a foreign element in the country, and the religious cult of the Kim family, which leaves no room for other beliefs. When young Kim Jong-un (1984-) came to power and the country’s diplomatic activity intensifed in 2018, many hoped that the situation of the North Korean population would improve, the country’s isolation from the world would ease, which would be benefcial for Christians. So far we have not seen any positive change and there is no indication that repression will ease in the future. Methodological problems It is a serious problem when examining the situation of Christianity in North Korea that we do not have reliable sources at all. Te authorities in Pyongyang do not publish much information on the number of believers, their composition or about any religious issues. Even if such ofcial statements were made the very nature of the system would make this data incredible. Missionaries, who are primarily South Korean, who have credible information about North Korean Christianity do not share this information with anyone to protect 1 Pázmány Péter Catholic University