Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim says he would go back to North Korea if invited

Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim, who was recently freed by North Korea after two years of imprisonment, said that he would not hesitate to go back to the Communist country if he is invited.

In an interview with CBC News, Lim, who served as the pastor of the 3,000-member Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Canada, said that his captors treated him well during his incarceration despite forcing him to dig holes and break coal by hand all day in a labor camp.

The pastor, who was born in South Korea, had been charged with attempting to overthrow the government in December 2015 and sentenced to hard labor for life.

He recounted that he had been "coached and coerced" into confessing that he entered the country under the guise of humanitarian work as part of a "subversive plot" to overthrow the government and set up a religious state.

Lim said that his captors watched him for 24 hours during his incarceration through video cameras installed in his cell.

"For 24 hours, they watched video camera -- three cameras -- to me in a small room, a very small washroom. Even the washroom had cameras," he noted.

The pastor maintained that he is not angry with North Korea despite his incarceration. "I thanked North Korea. I forgive them, and I love them. And I believe this was a discipline from God as I learned so much through this experience," Lim said.

He said he would not hesitate to go back to North Korea if he is invited, but he will follow the laws if he is allowed to return.

Lim further stated that he believes he was only released from prison because of his Canadian citizenship. "If I'm just Korean, maybe they kill me. Because my crime is too big (of a) crime in North Korea. But I'm Canadian, so they cannot... [As interpreted] because they cannot kill the foreigners," he remarked.

Following his release, Lim thanked the Canadian government for its assistance, including National Security Adviser Daniel Jean, who went to North Korea to ask for his freedom.

He said that he now wants to concentrate on his mission work, and help the North Koreans who are now scattered all over the world after escaping from the Communist regime.

North Korea said that the pastor was released on humanitarian grounds. The announcement came amid heightened tensions between the Washington and Pyongyang, although authorities have not indicated whether there was any connection between Lim's release and efforts to defuse the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.