North Korea releases detained Australian national
Canberra, Jul 4 (UNI): Australian Alek Sigley who went missing in North Korea last week is "released and safe", Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.
According to a BBC News report on Thursday, it comes after a meeting between officials from the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang and the North Korean government.
Australia does not have its own embassy in the North Korean capital.
Mr Sigley, 29, was pursuing a master's degree and running a tourism business in Pyongyang.
It is not known why the student, a fluent Korean speaker, had been detained.
The news of his release was first reported by specialist website NK News which said he was safely in China and would travel on to Japan.
"I'm ok, yeah, I'm good, I'm very good," Mr Sigley is seen saying on footage reportedly showing his arrival in Beijing, according to Australian media.
Then Mr Morrison made the announcement of his release to parliament saying it was the result of "discreet, behind the scenes work of officials in resolving complex and sensitive consular cases".
An update on Alek Sigley. pic.twitter.com/9tENySBZNW
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) July 4, 2019
"We are pleased to announce that Mr Alek Sigley has today been released from detention in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). He is safe and well," Mr Morrison said.
He said Swedish authorities had met with senior officials from the DPRK on Wednesday and "raised the issue of Alek's disappearance on Australia's behalf".
"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Swedish authorities for their invaluable assistance."
Sweden is one of few Western countries that have an embassy in North Korea and often acts as intermediary for countries that don't.
Mr Sigley was one of very few foreigners living in North Korea.
Originally from Perth, for the past year he had been pursuing a degree in Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University.
He also ran a business providing tours for Western tourists visiting the totalitarian, communist state.
In March, he described himself as "the only Australian living in North Korea" in a piece published by The Guardian.
Last week, his family and friends lost contact with him, sparking fears he might have been detained.
Several foreigners have previously been detained in North Korea, sometimes for illegally entering the country or for what Pyongyang terms "hostile criminal acts against the state".
US student Otto Warmbier was jailed in North Korea in 2016 after being accused of stealing a propaganda sign during an organised tour.
He spent 17 months in detention, and later died days after he was returned to the US in a coma.
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