LONDON, Ont. (AP) _ A spokesman for Open Doors International — a ministry to persecuted Christians — says he prays that the elevation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s son will ease the plight of the country’s Christians.

Paul Estabrooks, who visited North Korea last month, says an estimated 100,000 North Korean Christians are in labor camps, where many are tortured or executed.

North Korea’s state news agency says Kim Jong Un was promoted to the rank of army general ahead of today’s key party meeting. Kim Jong Un is the name of the ailing Kim Jong Il’s youngest son.

Estabrooks says the slogan he saw everywhere in North Korea was “Peace and Unification” — something he believes Christians everywhere should pray for as the country prepares to change leaders.