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Australian student arrested in North Korea, reports say Australian student arrested in North Korea, reports say
(32 minutes later)
Australia says it is urgently seeking clarification of reports an Australian man has been detained in North Korea.Australia says it is urgently seeking clarification of reports an Australian man has been detained in North Korea.
Australian and South Korea media have identified him as Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old student living in Pyongyang.Australian and South Korea media have identified him as Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old student living in Pyongyang.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not identified the man due to its privacy obligations. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not identified the man due to privacy obligations.
It said it was providing consular assistance to "the family of an Australian man who has been reported as being detained in North Korea".It said it was providing consular assistance to "the family of an Australian man who has been reported as being detained in North Korea".
"The department is urgently seeking clarification," it added in its statement on Thursday. "It certainly is a very serious set of circumstances," Attorney-General Christian Porter told a Perth radio station on Thursday.
It is not known why the man may have been detained. The government said embassy representatives in South Korea had contacted "relevant officials" in North Korea.
Mr Sigley is pursuing a master's degree in Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University in the North Korean capital. He also runs tours for foreigners visiting the country. It is not known why the man may have been detained. Mr Sigley's friends reported him missing earlier this week, the Australian Broadcasting Corp said.
He describes himself as "the only Australian living in North Korea" in a firsthand account about his life, published by The Guardian in March. Who is Alek Sigley?
Originally from Perth, Mr Sigley has been living in the totalitarian, communist state for the past year while pursuing a master's degree in North Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University.
Fluent in Korean, he also runs a business providing tours for Western tourists visiting the country.
In March, he described himself as "the only Australian living in North Korea" in a piece published by The Guardian.
He said he had become interested in living in North Korea after meeting some citizens while studying in China.
"As a long-term foreign resident on a student visa, I have nearly unprecedented access to Pyongyang," he wrote."As a long-term foreign resident on a student visa, I have nearly unprecedented access to Pyongyang," he wrote.
"I'm free to wander around the city, without anyone accompanying me.""I'm free to wander around the city, without anyone accompanying me."
His friends reported him missing earlier this week, the Australian Broadcasting Corp said. Last year, he told Sky News that as a Westerner living in the oppressive regime, he had "never felt threatened" despite some high-profile cases involving foreigners.
Australia does not have an embassy in North Korea, and has limited diplomatic access through the Swedish embassy. Has this happened before?
Several foreigners have previously been detained in North Korea, sometimes for illegally entering the country or for "committing hostile criminal acts against the state".
In 2014, Australian John Short was detained and deported after apparently leaving Christian pamphlets at a tourist site.
Religious activity is severely restricted in the North and missionaries have been arrested on many previous occasions.
US student Otto Warmbier was jailed in North Korea in 2016 for stealing a propaganda sign during an organised tour.
He later died days after he was returned to the US in a coma, following 17 months in detention.
North Korea has denied mistreating the 22-year-old student but his parents insist that his death in July 2017 was the consequence of torture.
The UN has criticised North Korea's record on human rights, saying citizens in the totalitarian state live under "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations".
Despite recent historic meetings with the United States and South Korea, the nation also remains isolated from the world due to tensions over its nuclear ambitions.
Like many other Western nations, Australia does not have an embassy in North Korea. It has limited diplomatic access through the Swedish embassy.
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison is currently in Osaka, Japan where he is due to meet other world leaders at the G20 Summit.