A Christian woman in North Korea who was imprisoned for leading a Bible study has been released from prison.

The woman, whose name is protected for security reasons, is now back with her husband and children, reports Open Doors USA.

For nearly 10 months, the woman has been held in a Chinese detention centre after being arrested in August 2019 near the border of North Korea and China.

The woman had been awaiting her repatriation from China to North Korea, a move that would result in torture and possible death due to her beliefs and the crime she was imprisoned for.

North Korea regards Christianity as a belief that is "hostile to the state." It is likely the woman would have been sent to a maximum-security political labour camp in North Korea for the remainder of her sentence.

These labour camps have been compared to that of Auschwitz, a concentration camp run by Hitler's Nazis during the Second World War that has become a symbol of terror due to the high numbers of Jewish people killed there. It has been estimated by Open Doors that around 50,0000 Christians are likely held in these camps in North Korea.

One former North Korean Christian who survived this camp says those who are sent to the camp are not sentenced by judges.

"They just disappear. No one survives Kwanl-li-so," the survivor says. "Most Christians go to these maximum-security North Korean prison camps."

The survivor says God is the reason she was able to make it through her time in the camp.

There are few details at this time on the release of the North Korean Bible study leader's release. Her deportation to North Korea, however, was delayed and she was released in China. The arrangement allowed for her Chinese husband to rescue her.

The woman says God's protection helped guide her through "the valley of the death," and she thanked Christians for their support through prayer.

"Thanks for your prayer support and love in Christ."

North Korea is considered the most dangerous country in the world for religious persecution, according to Open Doors' World Watch List.