Canadian delegation in North Korea to discuss jailed pastor

Flag of North Korea. (ShutterStock photo)

TORONTO — Canada says a delegation is in North Korea to discuss a Canadian pastor imprisoned there.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office confirmed the visit and North Korean media said Trudeau’s national security adviser, Daniel Jean, had arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

Hyeon Soo Lim, a South Korean-born Canadian citizen in his 60s, was sentenced to life in prison 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.

The prime minister’s spokesman Cameron Ahmad said the government considered Lim’s health of “utmost importance” but did not give more details.

Lim pastored the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto.

He met with the Swedish ambassador earlier this year and met Canadian officials in December.