OTTAWA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Canadian official is in Pyongyang to negotiate the release of an imprisoned Canadian pastor, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that a Canadian delegation is in Pyongyang now, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), CBC said.
Pyongyang media reported Monday that Daniel Jean, Trudeau's national security and intelligence adviser, is in Pyongyang leading a delegation to discuss the case of Toronto Presbyterian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim.
"Obviously, Pastor Lim's health and well-being remain of utmost importance to the government of Canada as we continue to engage on this case," CBC quoted Cameron Ahmad, media relations manager for the Prime Minister's Office, as saying.
Since early summer this year, Lim has been suffering from high blood pressure and stomach pains, according to letters to his friends. His family has urged the Canadian prime minister to personally save his life.
The 62-year-old Canadian Korean pastor was arrested in 2015 and charged with harming the dignity of the supreme leadership and trying to use religion to destroy the DPRK system, among others.
CBC news also reported that a senior official of the Trudeau government confirmed that Jean is leading the delegation as the Canadian prime minister's special envoy, and that while his focus is the release of Lim, he would also be free to "discuss other issues of regional concern."
The Canadian delegation arrived on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Pyongyang would be met "with fire and fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before," if it does not stop threatening the United States.
The senior official said the timing of the delegation's visit to Pyongyang is based on the condition of Lim, and not directly related to the increasing world tensions associated with Pyongyang's missile tests and last weekend's imposition of further sanctions by the United Nations.
