North Korea frees ailing Canadian pastor from prison

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont. (AA) – North Korea has freed a Toronto-area pastor on humanitarian grounds who had been serving a life sentence for alleged crimes against the state.

Hyeon Soo Lim, a pastor with the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ontario, is expected to arrive back in Canada on Thursday after more than two years in detention.

News of his release came a day after a six-member Canadian government delegation arrived in North Korea to try to gain Lim’s freedom.

He had been charged with trying to overthrow the regime but had visited North Korea 100 times since 1997 and was instrumental in setting up an orphanage, nursery and nursing home there.

North Korean officials said the pastor’s health was not good and he was released on humanitarian grounds.

In a statement Thursday on his website, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed relief that Lim had been freed.

“Today, I am pleased and relieved to confirm that Pastor Lim has been released from jail in North Korea and that he will soon be reunited with his family and friends in Canada,” Trudeau said.

“The Government of Canada was actively engaged on Mr. Lim’s case at all levels.”

Canada does not have an embassy in North Korea, and Trudeau thanked Sweden for playing the role of “protecting power”, where a country that does have diplomatic relations acts on behalf of another country.

“Pastor Lim’s health and well-being remain of the utmost importance to the Government of Canada, and we are working to ensure he receives any required medical attention,” Trudeau said in the statement.