Religious persecution in North Korea.

The word "persecution" is tossed about rather casually here in the U. S., along with the milder "religious discrimination." 

First Things reports on North Korea:

This week, the commission [Commission on International Religious Freedom], which operates out of the State Department, issued a blistering report on religious persecution in North Korea.

Based on eyewitness accounts of those who have fled the North Korean dictatorship, the stories curdle the blood. For instance, in the building of a highway near Pyongyang, a house was demolished and a Bible was discovered hidden between bricks. Along with it was a list identifying a Christian pastor, two assistant pastors, two elders, and 20 members of the congregation.

All were rounded up and the five Christian leaders were told they could avoid death if they denied their faith and swore to serve only Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, the founder of the communist dictatorship. Refusing to do so, they were forced to lie down and a steamroller used in the highway construction was driven over them.

Martyrs.