Pastor freed from North Korea expected back in Canada

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont.

A Toronto-area pastor who has been released from a North Korean prison while serving a life sentence for alleged crimes against the state is expected to arrive Thursday in Canada after more than two years in detention.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed relief that pastor Hyeon Soo Lim of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ontario, 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,” in which a country that has 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 on his website. “Operational security considerations prevent us from discussing the matter further. I ask that the family’s wish for privacy be respected."

But the family released a statement Thursday saying they are “grateful to all parties involved" and “there is a long way to go in terms of Reverend Lim’s healing”.

News of Lim’s release came a day after a six-member Canadian government delegation arrived in North Korea to try to gain his 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 Lim’s health was not good and he was released on humanitarian grounds.