North Korea bans materials with Christian cross markings

Materials and goods bearing a symbol that looks like the Christian cross are no longer allowed in North Korea.

Border guards will immediately confiscate goods that have such markings, even those that seem innocent, such as women's clothes and accessories that have cross-like designs.

"These products are more likely to be confiscated during customs checks," a source from Pyongyang told Radio Free Asia. "Some designs on women's clothing can look a lot like a cross, depending on who is looking at it. Cross designs also appear on women's hairpins and hair bands and on men's neckties."

The local source, who sold goods brought in from China, added that prior to the new regulation, they only inspected their goods for labels showing they came from South Korea, which the North considers as its rival.

Now they also had to check if the items they sold had markings similar to a cross.

This report was verified by another source from North Hamgyong, who said customs officers seized goods that have a cross mark.

Unfortunately, if their goods are confiscated, they couldn't complain anywhere, the source said.

The source also reported that people wearing accessories that appear to have the cross symbol are taken by authorities.

Christians are highly persecuted in North Korea. The country, for the last 14 years, has taken the number one spot on the list of countries where Christians experience extreme persecution, according to Open Doors, an organization supporting persecuted Christians worldwide.

The persecution in the country is so severe that even students writing the plus sign must ensure that the vertical and horizontal lines have the same length. A longer vertical line would make the symbol look like a cross.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said that North Korea, with a "deplorable" record in human rights, is one of the "most repressive regimes" in the world.

Christians are viewed as a threat, that's why the government "reserves its most severe persecution" for them.

Those who are caught praying and singing worship songs are jailed or sent to labor camps, where they are treated more harshly than other prisoners.

There are "tens of thousands of Christians" suffering in labor camps all over North Korea, the report said.