Canadian Pastor on humanitarian visit 'goes missing'

A pastor from Canada has been reported missing after going on a trip to North Korea.

Family and church members say that 60-yr-old Hyeon Soo Lim, had traveled to North Korea in late January on a humanitarian trip as he had done over a hundred times before .

Lisa Pak, a spokesperson for his church, based in Mississauga, Ontario said Rev. Lim had traveled to North Korea from China with a companion from the church who last spoke with him the following day, on January 31.

Lim's church - the Light Korean Presbyterian, say he was scheduled to return on February 4 from what was described as a "routine" trip to Rajin, located northeast in the country, where his church supports a nursery, orphanage and nursing home.

However, so far he has failed to show and it is suspected that he had gone missing in North Korea, according to his church.

CNN reports that a formal request to Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, has been made by the church to help find Lim. They also contacted Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which provides consular help for citizens of the U.S., Canada and Australia, which do not have diplomatic ties with North Korea.

According to Pak, after Rev. Lim hadn't contacted his family or the church, they thought he could have been caught up in North Korea's recent Ebola policy.

They had then waited for the 21-day incubation period that he would have been under quarantine.

However, Lim's family released a statement, thanking the Canadian government for their efforts to locate the pastor and asked for privacy.