Canberra: Australian student Alek Sigley, who had been missing for more than a week, has been released from detention in North Korea and is “safe and well,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday.
The 29-year-old student from Perth, who also operated guided tours in North Korea, had not been in contact with his family and friends since June 24. “I’m OK, I’m OK, yeah. I’m good. I’m very good ... great,” Sigleytold reporters after arriving at Beijing airport on his way to Tokyo, where his wife lives.
When asked what happened in Pyongyang, he only responded with “aah.” The video of Sigley, who was accompanied by Swedish envoy Kent Harstedt, was posted online by several Australia media outlets.
Morrison had discussed Sigley’s disappearance with world leaders at the G20 Summit in Japan over the weekend and asked Sweden for help in securing his release.
He said Swedish authorities had advised his government that they met with senior North Korean officials on Wednesday and raised Sigley’s case on Australia’s behalf.
“Earlier this morning we were advised that (North Korea) had released Alek from detention, and he has now safely left the country,” said Morrison. “I’m sure we all could not be more pleased that we not only know where he is but that he is safe.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom later tweeted that she was “happy for the release of Australian citizen Alek Sigley today!”
A spokesman for the family could not say when Sigley planned to return to Australia, telling that it was “all a bit of a blur at the moment.” It is not clear how many days Sigley was detained for.
Speaking to Swedish television SVT, Wallstrom said she did not knowwhy Sigley was detained. According to the Swedish envoy Harstedt, Sigley “was fine physically but drained from the experience,” Wallstrom said.
Australia has diplomatic ties with North Korea but not an embassy. It conducts consular work with the help of Sweden’s embassy in Pyongyang. Sweden has had an embassy in North Korea since the 1970s and also represents US interests in North Korea. “On behalf of the Australian government I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Swedish authorities for their invaluable assistance in securing Alek’s prompt release,” Morrison told parliament.
Sigley’s father, Gary Sigley, said the family was “extremely pleasedthat Alek now is safe and sound in Beijing.”
Sigley, who speaks fluent Korean, founded Tongil Tours, an Australian company specialising in guided educational tours to North Korea.
In 2014, John Short, an Australian missionary, was deported fromNorth Korea after he was detained for two weeks for trying to spread Christianity.
In 2016, US student Otto Warmbier was arrested and convicted by North Korea after he allegedly took a propaganda sign from a hotel during a tour visit. Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour.
The 22-year-old died shortly after he was returned to the US in a comatose state in 2017. — dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
