Franklin Graham Wraps Up 3-Day Trip to North Korea

0
By Aaron J. Leichman , Christian Post Reporter
October 16, 2009|11:47 pm

U.S. Evangelist Franklin Graham has concluded a three-day trip to North Korea that included meetings with high-level government officials and visits to his ministry's humanitarian assistance projects.

In a brief dispatch, North Korea's state-run news agency reported that Graham and his delegation had left the country Thursday after having arrived two days earlier to present $190,000 in equipment and supplies for a new dental center being built in Pyongyang.

During his stay, Graham also had a "friendly conversation" with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and offered a gift to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il through the country's vice parliamentary speaker, Kim Yong Dae, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had reported.

The three-day visit marked the third time the evangelical leader has entered the reclusive nation and the first time a representative of an American aid agency has visited since all U.S. humanitarian groups were kicked out more than six months ago.

Graham is now expected to make his way through China, where the evangelist’s relief organization, Samaritan's Purse, last year sent a Boeing 747 cargo plane filled with urgently-needed supplies in response to a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Chengdu that killed 40,000 people.

Graham has ties to both North Korea and China through his late mother, Ruth Bell Graham, who was born in the northern Jiangsu province of China and attended a mission school in Pyongyang prior to the split between North and South Korea.

Follow us

Graham’s father, world renowned evangelist Billy Graham, has also been to North Korea and met with then-President Kim Il Sung, who led North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death.

Advertisement
Top Stories

Greg Laurie: 4 Words That Can Change Your Marriage

Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in Southern ...

Tornadoes Kill 1, Injure Dozens in US Midwest; More Storms Likely on Monday

Tornadoes swept through five states in the U.S. Midwest on Sunday, killing a 79-year-old man in Oklahoma and injuring dozens others. Weather officials have warned that the region could face more severe weather on Monday.

Billboards in Chicago Feature 'Pregnant' Boys to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

The Chicago Department of Public Health has placed billboards featuring teen boys with "pregnant" bellies throughout the city, as part of a newly launched campaign to prevent teen pregnancies.