North Korea Sets Canadian Pastor Free
North Korea reportedly freed a Canadian pastor Wednesday after the man became ill while serving a life sentence.
Rim Hyon Su, also known as Hyeon Soo Lim, was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to hard labor for allegedly attempting to overthrow the regime by using religion.
Lim was convicted and sentenced in 2015 on charges of trying to use religion to destroy the North Korean system and helping U.S. and South Korean authorities lure and abduct North Korean citizens.
"Rim Hyon Su, a Canadian civilian was released on sick bail according to the decision of the Central Court of the DPRK on August 9, 2017, from the humanitarian viewpoint," the North Korean news agency KCNA told NK News
The 62-year-old was in poor health and wrote letters to his friends stating he had stomach pain and high blood pressure. The pastor's family asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for help in securing Lim's release from the country.
A Canadian security official arrived in North Korea Tuesday to secure the pastor's release.
The news follows the June 13 release of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who was held by North Korea for more than 17 months for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. The student died less than a week after returning to the U.S. There are three Americans still being held in North Korea.
