Religious freedom 'non-existent' in North Korea: State Department

美, 北 15년째 '종교자유특별우려국' 지정…"성경소지 사형까지" The U.S. State Department says religious freedom continues to be non-existent in North Korea. In its latest International Religious Freedom Report released Wednesday, the State Department estimates there are up to 120-thousand political prisoners in North Korea, some of whom are imprisoned for religious reasons. It also says ownership of bibles or other religious materials brought in from abroad is illegal and punishable by imprisonment and even execution. The U.S. has designated North Korea as a "country of particular concern" since 2001 for its severe violations of religious freedom. On South Korea, the report said around six-hundred people are serving jail time for refusing to do mandatory military service, the majority of whom refused on religious reasons. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS):   / newsarirang   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld