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| North Korea Sentences Canadian Pastor to Life in Prison | North Korea Sentences Canadian Pastor to Life in Prison |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Supreme Court sentenced a Canadian pastor to hard labor for life on Wednesday, the latest punishment the isolated country has inflicted on outside missionaries, who have been vilified as spies or agents of subversive ideas. | SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Supreme Court sentenced a Canadian pastor to hard labor for life on Wednesday, the latest punishment the isolated country has inflicted on outside missionaries, who have been vilified as spies or agents of subversive ideas. |
| The Rev. Lim Hyeon-soo, a South Korea-born pastor of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was convicted of carrying out “subversive plots” and committing “activities against” North Korea, like harming the dignity of the supreme leadership of Kim Jong-un, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. | The Rev. Lim Hyeon-soo, a South Korea-born pastor of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was convicted of carrying out “subversive plots” and committing “activities against” North Korea, like harming the dignity of the supreme leadership of Kim Jong-un, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. |
| The agency said that Mr. Lim, 60, had confessed to “all heinous crimes” he had committed “pursuant to the state-sponsored political terrorism and anti-D.P.R.K. hostile policy of the U.S. and South Korean authorities.” D.P.R.K. stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. | The agency said that Mr. Lim, 60, had confessed to “all heinous crimes” he had committed “pursuant to the state-sponsored political terrorism and anti-D.P.R.K. hostile policy of the U.S. and South Korean authorities.” D.P.R.K. stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. |
| North Korean prosecutors had called for the death penalty for Mr. Lim, the news agency said, adding that he had also been accused of helping “lure and abduct” North Korean citizens, calling them defectors. But his government-appointed lawyer asked the court to let him live “so he can see the true face” of North Korea, it said. | North Korean prosecutors had called for the death penalty for Mr. Lim, the news agency said, adding that he had also been accused of helping “lure and abduct” North Korean citizens, calling them defectors. But his government-appointed lawyer asked the court to let him live “so he can see the true face” of North Korea, it said. |
| Foreign governments and international rights groups have criticized the trials of recent foreign detainees in North Korea because their family members and outside lawyers had not been allowed to visit them or defend them in court. | Foreign governments and international rights groups have criticized the trials of recent foreign detainees in North Korea because their family members and outside lawyers had not been allowed to visit them or defend them in court. |
| Mr. Lim, who had visited North Korea more than 100 times on what his church called humanitarian missions, lost contact with his congregation after entering the country in late January. In July, a tearful Mr. Lim appeared in a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang and confessed to plotting to overthrow the North Korean leadership by undermining the “worship” of Kim Jong-un. | Mr. Lim, who had visited North Korea more than 100 times on what his church called humanitarian missions, lost contact with his congregation after entering the country in late January. In July, a tearful Mr. Lim appeared in a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang and confessed to plotting to overthrow the North Korean leadership by undermining the “worship” of Kim Jong-un. |
| Other foreigners detained in the North have appeared at similar news conferences or interviews, but the truthfulness of their “confessions” to crimes has been questioned by analysts, given that the foreigners were refused independent legal assistance. | Other foreigners detained in the North have appeared at similar news conferences or interviews, but the truthfulness of their “confessions” to crimes has been questioned by analysts, given that the foreigners were refused independent legal assistance. |
| François Lasalle, a spokesman for Canada’s Department of Global Affairs, said on Wednesday, “Canada is dismayed at the unduly harsh sentence given to Mr. Lim by a North Korean court, particularly given his age and fragile health.” | François Lasalle, a spokesman for Canada’s Department of Global Affairs, said on Wednesday, “Canada is dismayed at the unduly harsh sentence given to Mr. Lim by a North Korean court, particularly given his age and fragile health.” |
| He added: “Mr. Lim has been in detention since February and despite repeated requests, Canadian officials have not been able to meet with him to verify his health and well-being. The trial was our first opportunity to see him. This is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the right of states to have consular access to their citizens.” | He added: “Mr. Lim has been in detention since February and despite repeated requests, Canadian officials have not been able to meet with him to verify his health and well-being. The trial was our first opportunity to see him. This is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the right of states to have consular access to their citizens.” |
| Last month, Mr. Lim’s family issued a statement appealing to North Korea to release him “in a true show of mercy and compassion.” | Last month, Mr. Lim’s family issued a statement appealing to North Korea to release him “in a true show of mercy and compassion.” |
| Mr. Lim said at his news conference in July that the bags of food he had donated across North Korea had carried the sign of the cross and phrases from the Bible. His church has supported a nursing home, a nursery and an orphanage in North Korea since it began a mission there in 1996, when the country was in the grip of a famine that killed many thousands. | Mr. Lim said at his news conference in July that the bags of food he had donated across North Korea had carried the sign of the cross and phrases from the Bible. His church has supported a nursing home, a nursery and an orphanage in North Korea since it began a mission there in 1996, when the country was in the grip of a famine that killed many thousands. |
| Lisa Pak, a spokeswoman for the church, said that she hoped that end of the trial and the passing of the sentence might now allow for diplomatic progress. “As hard as the sentence was and as shocking as it was to us, there have been cases where the sentence has not been carried out,” Ms. Pak said. The change in government in Canada, she said, might also aid negotiations, although she added that Canadian officials “are very limited in what they can do.” She said that Canadian diplomats had been unable to obtain consular access to Mr. Lim. | |
| North Korea, which zealously tries to shield its citizens from outside influences, has detained several foreign missionaries in recent years, accusing them of “anti state” crimes. In May 2014, an American citizen, Jeffrey Fowle, was arrested and accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel. He was released later that year. | North Korea, which zealously tries to shield its citizens from outside influences, has detained several foreign missionaries in recent years, accusing them of “anti state” crimes. In May 2014, an American citizen, Jeffrey Fowle, was arrested and accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel. He was released later that year. |
| Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for trying to establish a secret proselytizing network, was freed in November last year, after the United States government sent its director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., to North Korea. | Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for trying to establish a secret proselytizing network, was freed in November last year, after the United States government sent its director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., to North Korea. |