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PA
World News

Canadian government calls for release of pastor in North Korea

by Hannah Tooley

The groups have spoken out saying that they hope the sentencing of a pastor to a life of hard labour in North Korea will bring new avenues of discussion after months without contact.

They also said they hoped for Hyeon Soo Lim, from the Light Korean Presbyterian Church, to be released quickly.

Hyeon Soo Lim is accused of what North Korea is calling crimes against the state.

He has been detained in North Korea since February of this year and has been sentenced to hard labour for life - a sentence Canada has called "unduly harsh."

Mr Lim has been making missionary journeys to the country for 20 years and was on his way to visit an orphanage and nursery when he was detained.

Reuters has reported that a spokesperson for Canada's foreign affairs department said: "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."

He said that Canada's requests to access Mr Lim to check on his health have been denied.

However North Korea's highest court said that Mr Lim had tried to overthrow the government and undermine its social system with "religious activities".

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