Canada dismayed at harsh sentence of Canadian pastor in North Korea

A South Korea-born Canadian pastor was sentenced to lifetime labor for subversion, the supreme court of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced Wednesday.

Hyeon Soo Lim from the Light Korean Presbyterian church in Toronto, was given the sentence after a brief trial before the North’s supreme court on Wednesday.

North Korea’s prosecutor allegedly demanded a death sentence for Hyeon but was overruled.

In June, the North’s highest court sentenced two South Koreans accused of spying for Seoul to hard labour for life.

His father, who was born in North Korea, held an office job and his mother worked at a family supermarket.

Originally arrested in February, right at the start of his trip, Lim confessed in a televised news conference in July, which was broadcast by North Korean State media.

“Despite repeated requests, Canadian officials have not been able to meet with him to verify his health and well-being”, Lasalle said.

“However we are also very appreciative of the Canadian government’s effort to continue in diplomacy”.

The family said it was Lim’s compassion for the people of North Korea that motivated him to travel to there in support of many humanitarian aid projects that he had initiated.

The authorities periodically detains foreigners for religious or missionary activity and staged public confessions from prisoners have previously been held in similar cases.

Although religious freedom is enshrined in the North’s constitution, it does not exist in practice and religious activities are restricted to officially recognised groups linked to the government. Mr. Lim was head of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church, and had last traveled to Pyongyang on January 31, 2015 before being detained during the Ebola outbreak.

Lim’s church began its mission in North Korea in 1996, and its charity work was reportedly under the protection of Jang Song-thaek, leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle who was executed by Kim 14 months ago.

Last year, Pyongyang released three detained Americans, including Bae and another man who had left a copy of the Bible at a club. This Protestant church is one of several places of worship in the North Korean capital, though it is known to be used for propaganda reasons.