North Korea, the nearest place to hell on earth?

 Hell is where God is absent.

"If this is life, then hell is empty and all the devils are here."  This might be the sentiments of some people living in North Korea at this very moment.

What do I know about North Korea?
  Well, let me tell you what I read this morning.

I read about conditions in North Korea.  I was not reading from Christian magazines, which I receive from CSW, Open Doors etc.  I was reading from National Geographic. (I often buy back copies from second bookshops and charity shops. The photography is truly excellent.)

The February 2009 issue has a moving feature on Escaping North Korea.  It was written by Tom O'Neil with photographs by Chien-Chi Chang.

People have been fleeing the North Korean hellhole and have been taking perilously long journeys (about 2,000 miles) to freedom. Soldiers in the brutal North Korean army are instructed to shoot to kill any defectors attempting to leave by various routes.  However, border guards take bribes to allow defectors to escape.

Please pray for North Korea and for those who are leaving North Korea by these dangerous escape routes.