North Korea has finally opened up their borders to foreigners for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and that means that Bible smuggling operations can expand.

“We have been waiting for the border to open up for so long,” one Chinese missionary reported. “They said they were going to open up in January, then March, then June… then July, but they never did.”

Chinese missionaries who have been working in North Korea for many years have been challenged on the businesses that they have inside.  Many of those businesses are used to distribute Bibles inside North Korea. “It has been almost impossible to get goods in and out of the country,” the missionary shared during our last meeting together.

The policy change to open up again started on Monday of this week and ended a three-year-long lockdown that was tighter than any other country in the world. North Korea was one of the first countries to go into lockdown in 2020 and are one of the last to open up.

Although North Korea has opened up its border, those traveling in and out of the country will still require a one week quarantine.

BTJ missionaries are working hard to get Bibles into the country during this time. Many prayers are needed for this Bible project to be successful.