Australian student released from North Korea says he's 'very good'

[snoop1130]

Australian student released from North Korea says he's 'very good'

 

An Australian student Alek Sigley, 29, who was detained in North Korea, departs from Beijing to Japan, at the Beijing international airport, China, July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian student who was detained in North Korea was freed and safely left the country on Thursday, after Swedish officials helped broker his release.

 

Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25.

 

“I’m OK. I’m good, I’m very good,” Sigley told reporters after arriving at Beijing airport.

 

He declined to comment about what happened to him in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang where he had been living. He made a peace sign as he walked through the airport.

 

An Australian government source familiar with the situation said Sigley was due to travel to Tokyo from Beijing. Sigley is married to a Japanese woman, Yuka Morinaga.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison interrupted parliament earlier on Thursday to confirm that Sigley had been freed.

 

Morrison later said in a statement that Swedish authorities had helped secure the student’s release.

 

“This outcome demonstrates the value of the discreet, behind the scenes work of officials in resolving complex and sensitive consular cases, in close partnership with other governments,” Morrison said in the statement.

 

He did not say why Sigley had been detained.

 

Australia has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on other countries such as Sweden to act on its behalf.

 

In a statement to Reuters, the Swedish foreign ministry said it welcomed the release.

 

“Sweden has acted in accordance with the agreement on providing consular services that exists with Australia and in close cooperation with Australian authorities,” it added.

 

Sigley’s father, a professor of Asian studies in the western Australian city of Perth, told reporters his son would soon be reunited with his wife.

 

“We are extremely pleased that Alek is safe and sound in Beijing,” Gary Sigley said.

 

He said his son was in good spirits and in the care of Australia’s embassy in Beijing.

 

Sigley was an active social media user in North Korea and regularly posted photos and blog posts about subjects such as food and fashion. Alarm was first raised that he was missing when he disappeared from his social media accounts.

 

He was also a regular contributor to international media about life in North Korea, which he was invariably enthusiastic about.

 

It was no coincidence the detention came during negotiations between North Korea and the United States, a close ally of Australia, said Asian security specialist Euan Graham.

 

“North Korea would not have taken an Australian citizen into custody without considering the geopolitical ramifications,” said Graham, a professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

 

The detention could have been used as leverage, he added.

 

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump became the first incumbent U.S. president to set foot in North Korea when he met its leader, Kim Jong Un Kim, in the region’s demilitarized zone to resume stalled nuclear talks.

 

The treatment of foreigners, most usually from the U.S., by the secretive North has long been a contentious issue. Some have been held prisoner for years on accusations of spying.

 

The death of American student Otto Warmbier in 2017 after he was detained for 17 months sparked a long period of tension between the United States and North Korea.

 

He had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2016 for, according to North Korean state media, trying to steal an item bearing a political slogan.

 

Warmbier died shortly after he was flown home to Ohio in a coma after being held by North Korea for 17 months.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-04

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[4MyEgo]

14 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

He was also a regular contributor to international media about life in North Korea

No doubt that would get him locked up in a communist country, ah....hello !!! 

[KhunBENQ]

43 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

He was also a regular contributor to international media about life in North Korea, which he was invariably enthusiastic about.

And now he has to suffer living in another country.

Poor boy.

 

[Tug]

Welcome good news that’s one lucky dude

[Credo]

25 minutes ago, car720 said:

Something I learned a long time ago.

If you are going to admire another culture then make sure you know all about it.

 

I don't think it's the culture that is the problem.   It's the form of government that's the problem.   

 

[Hanuman2547]

I'm glad things turned out ok for him and he was able to return to his wife and family.

[Scouse123]

5 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

I'm glad things turned out ok for him and he was able to return to his wife and family.

 

He should have thought about his wife and family before undertaking such a dangerous university position in Pyongyang.

 

The leadership is extremely unpredictable and all to often, guys like him are the first to be roped in and incarcerated when the DPRK needs a bargaining chip whilst negotiating with the outside world. It could easily be considered as foolhardy relocating to that country, whatever the nature of his studies.

 

I just don't get some of these people that put themselves in harms way and then all kinds of government interventions have to take place to get them out of a mess.

 

Mind you, I don't agree with these silly buggers that start on solo ' round the world ' yachting in unseaworthy boats or crafts or climbing mountains in bad weather. It is then the rescue services and volunteers putting themselves in grave danger for other peoples stupidity, but that's another story.