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Sweden Steps In On Behalf of Pastor Imprisoned in North Korea

CBN

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A Swedish ambassador advocated on behalf of Canadian pastor Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, who has been sentenced to life in prison at a North Korean labor camp. 

A North Korean Foreign Ministry official met with the Swedish ambassador to talk about the 60-year-old Canadian pastor. He was born in South Korea and arrested in December 2015, according to a Korean Central News Agency reported.

"We would like to extend our particular gratitude to the Swedish officials for their ongoing support and work in aiding our government on behalf of our family," Lim's family told The Canadian Press. "We hope to see him home soon."

 Lim is the pastor of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ontario.

He was visiting North Korea for a humanitarian purpose. State prosecutors accused him of using that as a  "false pretense" to enter North Korea and use religion as a means to overthrow the Kim regime. 
In January, CNN's Will Ripley interviewed Lim in North Korea. 

"Lim has been held in a labor camp. He appears to be the only inmate. He has not seen any other prisoners. Lim works eight hours a day, six days a week, with rest breaks, digging holes for the planting of apple trees in the prison orchard," Ripley reported.

"There are always two guards watching over him. He is serving a life sentence of hard labor. He has no contact with the outside world," Ripley said.

After the televised interview, more than 125,000 people signed an online petition calling for Lim's release. 
It called on Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, and Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion to work to free Rev. Lim.

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