Canadian Pastor Sentenced To Life In Prison In North Korea

A Canadian pastor held in North Korea for nearly a year was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Hyeon Soon Lim, who traveled to North Korea on what his family described as a humanitarian mission, was sentenced by the country's Supreme Court for alleged crimes against the state.

Lim appeared publicly in July, according to state-run news agency KCNA, and said he had been involved in activities to topple the North Korean government.

Reading from a prepared statement, Lim also confessed to violating the country's Ebola quarantine by entering in January.

"The purpose that I traveled about several parts of the country on the pretext of 'aid' was to build a base to overthrow the system of the country and create a religious state, taking advantage of the policies of the U.S. and South Korean authorities," Lim said according to a report from the AP.

Lim is a pastor at the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto.

Relatives told the AP Lim entered North Korea from China, and that he had traveled to the country more than 100 times since 1997.