Canadian pastor freed from North Korean prison speaks to congregation
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Despite a grim account of his imprisonment, the mood was joyful as a Canadian pastor freed from a North Korean prison addressed the congregation at a Toronto-area church Sunday.
During his first public appearance since arriving home, Hyeon Soo Lim described his two years in isolation, where he says he did gruelling physical labour that landed him in hospital on several occasions.
In an English translation of the address he gave in Korean, Lim describes the work he was forced to do and the effects it had on his body.
Lim had been sentenced to life in prison with hard labour for alleged anti-state activities, but was released on what the North Korean government described as “sick bail” last week.