Ban visit could be enough to free pastor held in N. Korea
UN may need to provide incentives to N. Korea for bargaining Pardon, says expert
Numerous North Korea experts predicted that a Canadian pastor currently sentenced to life in jail will likely be used in a pardon strategy should UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visit North Korea.
North Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday handed down a life long hard labor sentence to Korean-Canadian pastor Lim Hyeon-soo. Lim was allegedly accused of plotting to overthrow the state.
A Canadian official Francois Lasalle said on Wednesday that Canada is “dismayed at the unduly harsh sentence”, considering Lim is in his 60s, according to a report from VOA.
Nonetheless, North Korea experts predicted that Lim would likely be released soon, and given a “special pardon”.
“When Ban Ki-moon visits the North, it is predictable that Kim Jong Un will exercise his power to pardon and release pastor Lim as a ‘gift’,” Cheong Seong-jang, a senior researcher of Sejong Institute told NK News.
The North Korean leader is the only person in the North able to dispense pardons, according to the North Korean Constitution’s Article 103.
Cheong added the North will handle the case in a similar way to how it did with two American journalists’ captivity back in 2009.
Euna Lee and Laura Ling were sentenced to 12 years in jail after being convicted of “hatred to the people of DPRK” and “illegal border violation”. They were pardoned after former president Bill Clinton met Kim Jong Il, who travelled to North Korea specifically to secure their release.
Another expert agreed Lim’s conviction could be resolved by a visit from the UN Secretary General, though added the North would also try to leverage additional concessions.
“If Ban visits the North, Lim will likely be pardoned,” Hong Seong-pil, a professor of Yonsei University toldNK News.
“But for that, the UN must provide ‘incentives’ to North Korea as well. However the UN would not provide any incentives but (instead) bring human rights or political prison camp issues up to surface.”
Hong stressed that Kim Jong Un’s erratic behavior is a contributing factor to worsening North’s isolation in the international community.
“North Korea must escape isolation. Nonetheless, they do not have any consistent diplomacy strategy under Kim Jong Un’s rule. Kim’s capricious manner has so far worsened it … If North Korea accepts its isolation and gives in, there should be huge change with their diplomacy strategy. Nonetheless, there is no sign of a transition as of yet.”
Lim has been held in North Korea since late January. He was on a trip to provide humanitarian aid as a missionary.
*Featured Image: DPRK Today
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