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Michael Spavor, who facilitated North Korea travel, ID’d as second Canadian to go missing in China

Click to play video: 'Calgary-born man goes missing in China as tensions between countries escalate'
Calgary-born man goes missing in China as tensions between countries escalate
WATCH: Canadian officials confirmed Calgary-born Michael Spavor has gone missing in China after he alerted them that he had been questioned by Chinese authorities. Blake Lough reports – Dec 13, 2018

Michael Spavor, who runs a cultural exchange organization that helps people travel to North Korea, has been identified as the second Canadian to go missing in China this week.

“We are aware that a Canadian citizen, Mr. Michael Spavor, is presently missing in China,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Guillaume Berube told Global News in an emailed statement.

He said Canadian officials were working hard to ascertain Spavor’s whereabouts, and that “we continue to raise this with the Chinese government.”

Spavor is based in the northern Chinese city of Dandong.

WATCH: Ottawa says a second Canadian may be in trouble in China

Click to play video: 'Ottawa loses contact with Canadian questioned in China'
Ottawa loses contact with Canadian questioned in China

Spavor’s disappearance, which was first reported by the Globe and Mail on Wednesday evening, came two days after Canadian former diplomat Michael Kovrig was detained in Beijing.

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It also came amid increasing pressure from China for Canada to release Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities.

She has been accused of violating trade sanctions against Iran.

WATCH: ‘China will take revenge’ if Canada doesn’t free Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, says editor of Global Times

Click to play video: '‘China will take revenge’ if Canada doesn’t free Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou: Global Times editor'
‘China will take revenge’ if Canada doesn’t free Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou: Global Times editor

Spavor was born in Calgary, Alta., and has spent over two decades living in the Koreas, according to the website of his organization, Paektu Cultural Exchange.

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In his capacity running the organization, Spavor helped organize the high-profile visits of former NBA star Dennis Rodman to North Korea, the website says, and he even befriended North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un.

In this Dec. 19, 2013 file photo, Michael Spavor is seen with former NBA star Dennis Rodman on his arrival at Beijing airport for a flight to North Korea..
In this Dec. 19, 2013 file photo, Michael Spavor is seen with former NBA star Dennis Rodman on his arrival at Beijing airport for a flight to North Korea.. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File

“He has high-level contacts with government ministries and organizations throughout the DPRK,” the website says.

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Spavor appeared to have a front-row seat to many high-profile North Korean events. In February, he tweeted this video from a military parade in Pyongyang:

https://twitter.com/mpspavor/status/961535188416081920

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland revealed earlier Wednesday that a Canadian had gone missing in China shortly after he alerted Canadian officials that he had been questioned by Chinese authorities.

“We are aware of a Canadian who got in touch with us because he was being asked questions by Chinese authorities. We have not been able to make contact since he raised those concerns,” Freeland said.

WATCH: Chrystia Freeland comments on Meng Wanzhou case, possible detentions of Canadians in China

Officials speaking to Global News on condition of anonymity said the Canadian man who went missing had contacted Canadian authorities from an airport this week.

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It’s not clear from which airport he called or whether he was arriving in China or attempting to leave.

Freeland said the government was in touch with the missing man’s family. She also urged Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution in China” and to pay attention to directions posted on the Canadian government’s website.

READ MORE: Chinese state media urges Canada to free Huawei exec to ‘help maintain international order’

Chinese officials and media have yet to offer any statement on Spavor’s status.

However, Chinese media reported Thursday morning that Kovrig, who works for the International Crisis Group think tank, was arrested on suspicion of engaging in activities that threatened China’s national security.

WATCH: Canada’s former ambassador explains why China may have detained Kovrig

Click to play video: 'Canada’s former ambassador explains why China may have detained Kovrig'
Canada’s former ambassador explains why China may have detained Kovrig

Allegations of harming state security could cover a wide range of suspected crimes, and in China are often very vague when first leveled.

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Diplomats in China said the apparent involvement of the secretive state security ministry, which engages in domestic counter-espionage work, among other things, suggests the government could be looking at leveling spying accusations.

WATCH: Canadians once detained in China speak about their horrifying ordeal

Click to play video: 'Canadians once detained in China speak about their horrifying ordeal'
Canadians once detained in China speak about their horrifying ordeal

— With files from Amanda Connolly and the Canadian Press

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