A letter from North Korea

What appears to be a mother and daughter ride on a bicycle some 70 km north of Sineuiju, North Korea on October 16. AFP Yonhap

A humanitarian worker tells of a dire situation

A South Korean living abroad in order to work for a Christian organization helping North Korea’s children, sent a letter to an acquaintance in South Korea. The letter tells of the hardships that will likely hit North Korea after the recent nuclear bomb test. We partly modified his letter and withheld his name, both in order to protect his humanitarian activities.

While in North Korea, I have only spoken with positive and productive words so as not to be affected by North Koreans’ desperate environment - which recently has worsened - but I began to acutely feel my human limitations, and left the North for a while to restore myself.

These days, the mood in North Korea is gloomy and sad.

The recent nuclear crisis is seen quite differently by the world’s nations. The hubbub over the test in neighboring countries is so insignificant compared to the frustration and hopelessness felt in North Korea. The reality is stark. Even though this is harvest season, the high price of rice in the North Korean markets already belies a tense situation at hand. Worries are growing regarding a food shortage expected to be aggravated in the winter and next spring amidst forecasts of a second "arduous march." I hope that you will pray for the North Korean people imagining their face full of trouble and a scene of their struggle. They should face a brutal and sad reality, with empty hands.

It looks actually impossible to overcome the given situation. I, who has a mission to take care of the children, am building a farm to stably secure food for the children suffering from malnutrition. It is a kind of struggle to obey Our Lord, who compels me to help my North Korean brothers overcome their hardships.

There are many slogans that hang in North Korea, and I simultaneously feel deep pain and a kind of warmth when "

I look at the writing that says, "Even if our course is rough, let’s take it laughing." I, too, advance, believing in the Creator, Our Lord, who will open a new era of harmony and prosperity after getting out of this cold valley of death using the driving force of Christian belief.