Franklin Graham arrived in North Korea on July 31, 2008, for a historic four-day visit to meet with government and church leaders, assess relief projects, and share the Gospel. At the formal reception that evening, Graham was welcomed by Jong Tae Yang, vice director of foreign ministry, along with Rev. Kang Yong Sop, chairman of the central committee of the Korean Christian Federation, and Ri Jong Ro, director of international affairs for the Korean Christian Federation.

“I do not come to you today as a politician or diplomat,” Graham told the gathering. “I come to you instead as a minister of the Gospel and an ambassador for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.”

During his visit, Graham had the unique opportunity to talk with Vice President Kim Yong Dae and other senior government leaders, and presented them with Korean-language Bibles, a cross, and a statuette of the Good Samaritan. North Korean officials personally expressed their deep gratitude to Samaritan’s Purse for our flood relief efforts in 2007, when we chartered a 747 cargo jet to deliver tons of medicine and other emergency supplies. Over the past 15 years, Samaritan’s Purse has gained the respect of the nation’s leaders by supplying and improving hospitals, equipping TB treatment centers, and providing other aid.

Throughout his journey, Graham was accompanied by Fox News reporter Greta Van Susteren, whose commentary and interviews with Graham were featured on her On the Record television program and her GretaWire blog. They visited a hospital in Pyongyang where Samaritan’s Purse installed the intensive-care unit and inspected a dental van donated by the ministry. An hour west of the capital, they toured the provincial hospital in Sariwon where they found the halls dark and sweltering because of intermittent blackouts. Hospital staff described a makeshift system of mirrors they used to provide light from the windows when the power fails during surgery. Samaritan’s Purse technicians later upgraded the hospital’s electrical system, installing a new diesel generator to provide a dependable source of electricity.

Escalating food shortages in North Korea were a cause for serious concern for Graham during his visit. Samaritan’s Purse joined with four other relief organizations during 2008 in an unprecedented feeding program that helped 900,000 North Koreans after torrential rains and massive floods destroyed much of the nation’s farmland the previous year. The food was critical for many children, women, and elderly who were threatened by malnutrition.

Graham completed his visit on Sunday by delivering an evangelistic message at Bongsu Church, one of only two Protestant churches in the capital city of Pyongyang. He and his father, Billy Graham, are the only two Americans who have been allowed to speak at the church. With no restrictions from the authorities, he preached from the third chapter of the Gospel of John, explaining to hundreds in the congregation how they can be born again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

“I want to try to help the church that is here in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Graham told Fox News. “I want our governments to have better relations and better understanding as it relates to the church. I think that by working with their government, they can see that Christians can make a positive impact on society for the good.”