North Korea is expected to push for "pardon diplomacy" using a Korean-Canadian pastor sentenced to a life of hard labor, an expert here said Friday.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, raised the possibility that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will soon travel to Pyongyang to win the freedom of Lim Hyeon-soo of Light Korean Presbyterian Church near Toronto.

Ban, formerly Seoul's top diplomat, confirmed he is in consultations with the North for a visit aimed at helping bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier this week, the North announced the sentence against Lim, citing his "subversive plots." Lim was detained in February soon after he entered the country via China on a humanitarian mission.

Ban's possible trip and the North's court decision do not appear to be a "simple coincidence," said Cheong, who has long followed North Korea issues.

If the U.N. leader visits Pyongyang, chances are high that leader Kim Jong-un will grant Lim a special pardon as a "gift" for Ban, Cheong added.

In a similar case, he noted, the North released two female American journalists when former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a trip to Pyongyang in 2009. (Yonhap)