Canadian pastor missing in North Korea

A spokeswoman for the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto said Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim travelled to North Korea on January 31 as part of a regular humanitarian mission.

Neither his family nor the church have heard from him since then.

"This is not an unusual trip for him ... he's not a tourist who got lost. He speaks Korean; he's been there many times," Reuters said quoting Lisa Pak, a pastor at Light Korean.

A ministry friend in South Korea told the AFP that North Korean officials invited Lim to Pyongyang before he went missing.

According to The Toronto Globe, the lack of diplomatic ties between Ottawa and Pyongyang have made it difficult for Canadian authorities to obtain information about the missing pastor's whereabouts.

"We didn't want to cause unnecessary hysteria, just make sure he is okay," Pak said. "He's very non-political; he just wants to help people."