Dear sister and brother,
I greet you with the peace of the Lord.
This year began with a lot of unforeseen challenges and we recognize that going through such adversity was particularly tough. As the pandemic was followed by more natural disasters, we felt threatened from several sides. When borders were closed and trade was suspended, the prices of groceries rose. When the weather warmed up, both regular trade and smuggling routes resumed, helping to stabilize prices - but when numerous typhoons and floods hit agriculture, prices began to rise again.
This coincided with the government mobilizing the people for a nationwide celebration of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of North Korea in September and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party in October. Various other events that also required the people to come together made it even harder for ordinary people to obtain basic necessities. Not a day goes by without the party lecturing the people on the importance of their allegiance to the Leader. They distribute political material to party members, workers, peasants, students and ordinary families alike.
"Remembering the great care of our brothers and sisters, we again dedicate our lives to passing on the precious faith handed down to us by our ancestors."
However, none of these tribulations can stop our spiritual journey to the top of the mountain. Uhe Underground Churches are moving forward step by step like a strong wind sweeping towards a glorious future. Remembering the great care of you and our brothers and sisters all over the world, we again dedicate our lives to the work of the underground church and to passing on the precious faith handed down to us by our ancestors. With great determination, we surrender our lives and death to the underground church of North Korea, and we do our best to complete the task. We wish to express our great gratitude to you and our brothers and sisters from all over the world, and we pray that God may pour out His rich grace and blessing upon you.
Best regards,
A North Korean church leader