THE KUKMIN DAILY

As of March 2, a Korean pastor of Canadian nationality is believed to be detained in North Korea.

According to Light Presbyterian Church (Keunbit Church) in Toronto, Canada, Rev. Yim Hyun-soo (60·photo) left Canada for North Korea on January 27, arrived on the 30th in Rason, China, and entered North Korea, heading for Pyongyang, on the 31st. As there has been no word from him since then, and a whole month has passed, the church assumes that he is being detained. This is the second time that North Korea has detained a Canadian Korean, following the Rev. Kim Jae-yeol incident in 2007.

A Keunbit Church-related source said in a telephone conversation with Kukmin Daily, “We’ve just waited so far, because we’re told that foreigners are quarantined in the North for three weeks due to the Ebola virus. But that period ended February 22, and still we have not heard from him, so we think there must be a problem.”

Rev. Yim immigrated to Canada in 1986 and established Keunbit Church. Since the mid-90s, the church has been providing humanitarian support for North Korea. Rev. Yim is known as a “godfather” of North Korea mission circles for his church’s support of childcare centers and educational institutions, and he has visited the North more than 90 times. North Korea once recognized him as a “VVIP” and even let him stay at a lodging for top foreign heads.

A source at the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, “For lack of sufficient information or grounds, it is still too early to conclude (whether or not he has been detained)... In some known cases, the Ebola virus quarantine exceeds three weeks.”

Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


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