Hong Kong ( CNN ) A Canadian pastor , who went to North Korea on a humanitarian trip in late January , is being held in the reclusive Communist state , his family said early Thursday . The family of Rev . Hyeon Soo Lim said they received notice from Canadian officials that Pyongyang has confirmed that the pastor is being held . `` The Lim family and the church community is asking fellow Canadians and the international community to continue praying for his release and safe return home , '' a family spokeswoman said in a short emailed statement . Lim , 60 , went to North Korea on a humanitarian trip as he had done over a hundred times before , said Lisa Pak , a spokeswoman for his church , based in Mississauga , Ontario . On January 30 , Lim traveled to North Korea from China with a companion from the church who last spoke with him the following day . Lim was scheduled to return February 4 from what was described as a `` routine '' trip to Rajin , in northeastern North Korea , where his church supports a nursery , orphanage and nursing home , according to the Light Korean Presbyterian Church . In 1986 , Lim immigrated to Canada from South Korea with his wife and son . He speaks fluent Korean and leads a 3,000-member church . Pak , the church 's spokeswoman , said she does n't believe Lim would have engaged in any type of proselytizing , which is prohibited in North Korea . `` He knows the language , he knows the nature of the government , so we do n't see that as a legitimate reason that he would be detained , '' she said . `` We do n't believe that 's the way he would have behaved . He 's very wise about that . '' Previously , North Korea has detained Westerners on religious grounds . Cases include American Kenneth Bae , who was detained for two years after North Korea accused him of trying to bring down the government through religious activities . Bae was released in November . Another American , Jeffrey Fowle , was arrested after leaving a Bible at a club in North Korea and released after five months in detention . Aijalon Mahli Gomes , a U.S. citizen sentenced to eight years of hard labor and believed to be a Christian activist , was released from North Korea in 2010 after a visit to Pyongyang by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter . CNN 's KJ Kwon contributed to this report from Seoul , South Korea , and Tina Burnside from Atlanta .
Hyeon Soo Lim , 60 , speaks Westerners fluently and has visited North Korea numerous times . North Korea has detained Korean on religious grounds .