Freed pastor to be reunited with family
Hyeon Soo Lim will be reunited with his family in Toronto today.
And on Sunday, Lim will return to his church family — the congregation of the Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, which has wept, prayed and organized vigils for its beloved senior pastor during the 2 1⁄ years he
2 was detained in North Korea.
The reception for Lim is expected to pack the 2,000-seat facility where he used to preach weekly.
Lim’s family is requesting privacy, but their reaction was “relieved, grateful, excited and anxious to see him home,” according to church spokesperson Richard Ha.
Lim has been able to phone church colleagues, who say he is doing well. “He is in good spirits,” said Jason Noh, an associate pastor at the Light Presbyterian Church.
A Canadian delegation reportedly flew to Japan from Pyongyang after North Korea’s Central Court on Wednesday granted Lim “sick bail” on humanitarian grounds.
The delegation did not head straight home, but jetted to Guam for a layover, according to sources. The return flight path is not known, but Lim was expected to be in Toronto by today.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Lim’s freedom in a statement sent out by email at 1:13 a.m. Thursday. It read, in part: “The Government of Canada was actively engaged on Mr. Lim’s case at all levels. In particular, I want to thank Sweden, our protecting power in North Korea, for assisting us.”
The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang serves as Canada’s protecting power in North Korea because Ottawa does not have an embassy there. Swedish ambassador Torkel Stiernlof was able to meet with Lim a few times and, with North Korean approval, delivered family letters and prescription medication to him. Lim has high blood pressure that requires medicine.
It has been reported that Lim was in poor health and had lost a lot of weight.
On Thursday, Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland wrote to thank her Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom, on her Twitter account: “Thank you for your tremendous support, @MargotWallstrom. Canadians are so grateful for #Sweden’s long-standing, heartfelt friendship.”
Freeland also said she spoke briefly with her North Korean counterpart about Lim in Manila, the Philippine capital, last Sunday, Reuters reported. The two were gathered there for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting of foreign ministers.
“We were clear with North Korea that Pastor Lim needed to be released, and we are very, very glad that happened,” Freeland said Friday, Reuters reported.
In Toronto, it’s expected Lim’s wife, Geum, their son James and his wife and their 10month-old daughter will be waiting for him. James, 34, and his family live in the United States.