Good News for IDOP: North Korea Frees Missionary Kenneth Bae After Two Years

Convicted of working for YWAM, Christian tour operator was longest-imprisoned American since Korean War.

Good news for concerned Christians observing Sunday’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP): Missionary Kenneth Bae, the longest-imprisoned American in North Korea since the Korean War, has finally been freed after two years.

“The day we’ve been praying for has finally arrived,” wrote Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, in a public statement. “Words cannot adequately express our relief and gratitude that Kenneth is finally coming home. We have been waiting for and praying for this day for two years. This ordeal has been excruciating for the family, but we are filled with joy right now.”

Bae regularly led orphan-focused tours into North Korea from China. North Korea claimed he was working for YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor. More than 175,000 people petitioned for his release.

The Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, Reuters, and the Christian Science Monitor report the details of Bae’s release today alongside another imprisoned American, Matthew Todd Miller. CNN, which was allowed by North Korea to interview Bae in September, profiled him in January.

CT has followed Bae’s two-year saga in North Korea since his November 2012 arrest, including his deteriorating health, how his mother was allowed to visit last fall, and how at one point not Jimmy Carter but Dennis Rodman was a potential avenue for his release. (Rodman is taking some credit for today’s release.)

“At more than 730 days, Bae’s imprisonment was the longest on record for an American citizen in North Korea,” claimed International Christian Concern (ICC). On November 3, the anniversary of Bae’s imprisonment, his family launched a …