DC Court of Appeals Grants Default Judgment Against North Korea In Torture Death of Christian Missionary

In Kim v. Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (DC Cir., Dec. 23, 2014), the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit awarded a default judgment against North Korea to the family of Reverend Dong Shik Kim who allegedly was abducted from China by North Korean agents, taken to a North Korean labor colony, tortured and then killed. Kim, a Christian missionary, was allegedly targeted for providing humanitarian aid to North Korean defectors and refugees who fled to China seeking asylum, and for his proselytizing defectors.  According to a 2008 Washington Post article:

Kim, whose wife and two children are U.S. citizens, had raised the ire of the North Korean government by helping its citizens flee the repressive regime and by attempting to convert North Korean athletes who attended the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The suit against North Korea was based on the "terrorism exception" to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, allowing suits based on allegations of torture. The appeals court found that plaintiffs had produced sufficiently satisfactory evidence of torture to satisfy the requirements for entering a default judgment. The court concluded:

If the DPRK is unhappy with that outcome and has evidence that it has not tortured and killed Reverend Kim, it, like any defendant in default, may ask the district court to vacate that judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b).

McClatchy News reports on the decision.

North Korea Releases Australian Christian Missionary After He Signs Apology

According to yesterday's International Business Times, the North Korean government has released 75-year old missionary John Short after he signed a confession asking forgiveness for his "insult to the Korean people on February 16" when he distributed Korean-language Christian Bible tracts at a Buddhist temple. Short, an Australian, lives in Hong Kong. The North Korean Central News Agency said that the government decided to expel him "in full consideration of his age." (See prior related posting.)

North Korea Detains Christian Missionary For Distributing Gospel Tracts

London's The Telegraph reported yesterday that North Korea has detained a 75-year old Christian missionary for distributing Korean language gospel tracts that he had written. He could face up to 15 years in prison for his actions. The missionary, John Short, is an Australian who lives with his family in Hong Kong and is a member of The Gospel Hall brethren. This was his second trip to North Korea. Short's wife told the press: "We're faith missionaries and he believed that we should care and not just talk but do something… Ultimately, we're in God's hands and that's how we look at it."

UN Commission Finds Severe Human Rights Abuses, Including Religious Persecution, In North Korea

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced yesterday the release of the report of a commission of inquiry on human rights abuses in North Korea. The 36-page report of the commission dated Feb. 7 (full text) says:

24. The commission finds that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  In many instances, the violations found entailed crimes against humanity based on State policies....

The report includes findings on religious persecution by North Korea:

31. The State considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organization and interaction outside the realm of the State. Apart from the few organized State-controlled churches, Christians are prohibited from practising their religion and are persecuted. People caught practising Christianity are subject to severe punishments in violation of the right to freedom of religion and the prohibition of religious discrimination.

The 36-page report is documented by 354 pages of detailed findings (full text). More background and reactions are reported by CBS News.