Canada, church say they hope N. Korea will release pastor soon

By Andrea Hopkins
TORONTO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The Canadian government and one
of the country's largest churches said on Thursday they hope the
sentencing of a pastor to a life of hard labor in North Korea
will at least bring new avenues of consular access after months
without contact.
They also said they hoped for the quick release of the
pastor, South Korea-born Hyeon Soo Lim. Lim, held by North Korea
since February, was sentenced to hard labor for life for
subversion, North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported on
Wednesday, a sentence Canada called "unduly harsh."
The conclusion of the trial of Lim, who had been traveling
to North Korea since 1997, could finally allow Canadian
officials to visit the 60-year-old pastor - and possibly secure
his release, a spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs department
said on Thursday.
"Our priority now is to get access to Mr. Lim. Canadian
officials are ... aggressively working on that as we speak, and
then to work on next steps with the North Korean government with
the hope that he'll be returned to Canada as soon as is
possible," spokesman Adam Barratt said.
He said Canada's requests for access to Lim to check on his
health and convey messages from his family and congregation have
been repeatedly denied by North Korea.
Lim had been doing humanitarian work in North Korea since
1997, according to his Toronto church, the 3,000-member Light
Korean Presbyterian Church.
North Korea's highest court said Lim had attempted to
overthrow the government and undermine its social system with
"religious activities" for the past 18 years, China's official
Xinhua news agency reported.
North Korea had previously sentenced Korean-American
missionary Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor but released
him last year after holding him for two years. Lim's church said
they hope Lim's sentencing will bring similar relief.
"We hope that he knows that there is a global community who
is praying for him and also working hard to secure his release.
We hope that he remembers his family and congregation and how
much they love him," church spokeswoman Lisa Pak said in an
email.
Lim, who has lived in Canada since 1986 and is a Canadian
citizen, is the only Western citizen known to be held currently
in North Korea.
Both North Korea and neighboring China have clamped down on
Christian groups in recent years. Last year, Pyongyang released
three detained Americans, including Bae and another man who had
left a copy of the Bible at a club.