Giant balloons with messages about human rights were launched on Tuesday to call for freedom in North Korea as it marked the 68th birthday of Kim Jong-il.

Kim’s birthday is a national holiday in North Korea that is marked by celebrations such as dances, an ice sculpture festival and the screening of a documentary that promotes Kim as a great leader.

Rights groups marked Kim’s birthday by exposing the truth behind his leadership and alerting the world, as well as North Koreans inside the isolated communist nation, that citizens under Kim Jong-il have no human rights and that tens of thousands of people are thrown into concentration camps simply for criticising the government.

An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians are in prison camps in North Korea, where it is illegal to be a Christian. Despite the persecution, Open Doors estimates there are about 400,000 Christians there.

“The house churches, especially in villages where they receive opposition, are made up almost only of immediate family members,” Paul Estabrooks, minister-at-large with Open Doors, told Mission Network News. “They don’t sing because they can’t reveal the fact that they’re worshipping together.”

Sources inside North Korea report that people have been publicly executed for possessing a Bible. It is one of the worst crimes to be discovered a Christian because the person is considered to be a traitor to the nation.

“Please join with me in praying for those Christians who are not only facing starvation but also facing imprisonment or death because they are believers in Jesus Christ,” says Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller. “I believe 2010 will be a critical year for North Korea. The Christians there are asking us not to pray for their safety but for continued strength, boldness for Christ and outreach to the poor and hungry.”

Fighters for Free North Korea launched giant balloons inscribed with excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into the reclusive country from South Korea. In addition to the messages, the balloons were to contain small radios and money to help support the private markets - an economic stimulus project for North Korea.