N. Korea hands Canadian pastor life sentence

A court in North Korea has sentenced Canadian pastor Hyeon-soo Lim to life in prison for what it called crimes against the state.

Lim, who pastors the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was given the sentence after a brief trial before the country's Supreme Court on Wednesday. Further details were not immediately available.

Relatives of Lim said he traveled on Jan. 31 as part of a regular humanitarian mission to North Korea, where he supports a nursing home, a nursery and an orphanage. They said Lim, who is in his early 60s, has made more than 100 trips to the country since 1997 and that his trips are about helping people and are not political.

The Rev. Chun Ki-won, the director of Durihana, which helps North Korean refugees, said some of the food-related projects Lim was involved in — ranging from noodle plants to flour mills — were linked to associates of Jang Song Thaek, the executed uncle of North Korea’s President Kim Jong Un. Jang is known to have led many joint economic projects before he was arrested and executed for treason in December 2012. 

Canadian media reported that Lim had extensive business dealings in North Korea, including ones involving ramen and wig factories, gas stations, farms and fishing operations.

In July, Pyongyang's KCNA news agency said Lim admitted to carrying out "subversive plots and activities in a sinister bid to build a religious state" in North Korea, a reclusive communist nation.

The country has very strict rules against any missionary or religious activities that it sees as threatening the supremacy of its regime. For example, leaving a Bible in a public place can lead to arrest and severe punishment. The U.S. and Canadian governments warn against travel to North Korea.

Last year North Korea released Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who was convicted of anti-state crimes and was serving a 15-year sentence. Bae, whose case received worldwide attention, suffered medical issues in detention. He was freed along with one other American detainee after a secret mission to the country by James Clapper, the top U.S. intelligence official. Bae is reportedly planning a book about his two-year ordeal.

An Australian missionary detained for spreading Christianity was deported last year after he apologized for anti-state religious acts and requested forgiveness.

Al Jazeera with wire services