Contact: Erika Castle, 719-598-5869

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Mar. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has announced plans to launch a communications satellite, which the U.S., South Korea and neighboring countries believe is intended to cover the test of a long-range missile. This act, which seems designed to gain the attention of the new U.S. president and other world leaders, comes while a group of North Korean exiles at Underground University in Seoul, South Korea are training to grow the North Korean church while avoiding the attention of Kim Jong Il's regime.

These students are part of a 12-month intensive Underground University program that provides North Korean exiles with the skills and training they need to return to serve and grow the North Korean Church.

Christianity is illegal in North Korea, despite three government-run churches in Pyongyang. Returning to North Korea after defecting is punishable by death in a concentration camp. "A modern-day Holocaust is occurring in North Korea. What Underground University students are preparing to do is deadly," says Mrs. H.S. Foley, Executive Director of Seoul USA. "But this program is designed to equip them to face these realities while spreading the Gospel to North Koreans."

Underground University is a new initiative launched by Colorado-Springs based ministry Seoul USA in partnership with The Voice of the Martyrs-Canada. "We're working together to train Underground University graduates who can grow the Underground Church in North Korea while remaining undetected by the North Korean government," says Foley.

To join in supporting these North Korean exiles, Seoul USA invites Colorado Springs residents to attend a banquet on April 2, 2009 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. The banquet is free to adult guests, thanks to sponsorships by Seoul USA champions, and all proceeds from the event will benefit Underground University.

"All guests are welcome to attend and bring friends or family members," says Foley. "And you will be glad you did! Kim Sung Min, a North Korean defector and Dean of Underground University, is the featured speaker and will be sharing about his horrific escape from North Korea and the hope he sees for his fellow countrymen through Underground University. The banquet is sure to be a life-changing and memorable experience."

Individuals interested in attending the Seoul USA banquet can RSVP online at www.UndergroundU.org or call (719) 481-8599. Individuals in Canada can support this project at www.persecution.net/donation.htm.