Hyeon Soo Lim, freed last week, says he believes Kim Jong-un freed him as a goodwill gesture
A Canadian pastor recently freed from imprisonment in North Korea spoke Sunday of the “overwhelming loneliness” and harsh conditions he experienced during his two-and-a-half years in a labor camp.
Hyeon Soo Lim, 62, also said he believed he was released last week to help reduce pressure on Pyongyang.
“I believe (North Korean leader) Kim Jung-un let me go as a gesture of goodwill in the face of so much rhetoric, ” Hyeon Soo Lim told a packed worship hall in a Toronto suburb on Sunday.
Lim was imprisoned by Pyongyang in January 2015 for carrying out “subversive activities, ” a charge steadfastly denied by Ottawa which sent a high-level delegation this week to secure his release.
Pastor freed from North Korean prison arrives back in Canada
The missionary finally returned home on Saturday, with his captors citing clemency on medical grounds.
He appeared slightly frail but in good spirits as he returned to his congregation at the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, a Toronto suburb.
Wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt, the pastor sat alongside his son in the first row of worshippers. His granddaughter, who was born while he was away, perched on his knees.
He told the congregation: “From the first day of my detainment to the day I was released, I ate 2,757 meals in isolation by myself. It was difficult to see when and how the entire ordeal would end.
