3,000 days in a North Korean prison: A missionary’s family prays for his return

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3,000 days in a North Korean prison: A missionary’s family prays for his return

Christmas marks tragic milestone since Kim Jong-uk’s arrest, with at least six South Koreans still detained in the DPRK

Jeongmin Kim December 27, 2021

3,000 days in a North Korean prison: A missionary’s family prays for his return

Courtesy of Kim Jong-sam | South Korean missionary Kim Jong-uk, 57, standing at the far right, third row from the front, in a family photo taken years before his detainment in North Korea

As people around the world celebrated Christmas with gifts, warm meals and video calls with loved ones, Kim Jong-sam knelt in prayer with family and thought of the one who could not join — his brother locked away in a cold North Korean jail cell nine winters ago.

Christmas marked exactly 3,000 days since DPRK authorities arrested the missionary Kim Jong-uk after he crossed the China-North Korea border. His family spent yet another holiday, when temperatures in the Koreas dipped to the single digits Farenheight, unsure whether he is still alive.

About the Author

Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at KOREA PRO, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim

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