SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) - An Australian student who was detained in North Korea was freed and safely left the country on Thursday, arriving in Tokyo via Beijing later the same day 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.

Hours later he landed in Tokyo, walking past a throng of reporters waiting at the airport without answering their questions. Sigley is married to a Japanese woman, Yuka Morinaga.

An Australian government source familiar with the situation said Sigley was due to travel to Tokyo from Beijing.

Australian 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.

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

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,” Gary Sigley said.

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, in the region’s demilitarized zone to resume stalled nuclear talks.

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

Slideshow (3 Images)

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. </s> An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and has safely left the country, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and has safely left the country, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25. Alarm was raised when the normally active social media user ceased all communication.

Morrison interrupted Parliament to confirm that Sigley had been freed. He 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.

READ MORE: Australian student missing in North Korea after failing to contact family

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.

An Australian government source familiar with the details confirmed Sigley was in Beijing and would shortly travel to Tokyo. Sigley, from the western Australian city of Perth, is married to a Japanese woman, Yuka Morinaga.

A spokeswoman for Sigley's family directed all inquiries to the Australian government.

Sigley had been studying for a postgraduate degree in modern Korean literature at Kim Il Sung University, according to his Twitter page, making him one of only a handful of Western students there.

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

READ MORE: North Korea to deport American as it boasts of new weapon </s> SYDNEY: A 29-year-old Australian student detained in North Korea has been released and is "safe and well", Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Thursday, ending a weeklong ordeal for his family.

Alek Sigley - one of a handful of Westerners living and studying in Pyongyang - disappeared without a trace around June 23, prompting concerns about his fate.

For days his family received no word about his whereabouts or wellbeing, stoking fears he may be the latest in a long line of foreigners to be tangled up in North Korea's police state.

Then, with little warning, Morrison on Thursday told lawmakers that Sigley had "been released from detention in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and that "he is safe and well".

His detention came just days before a landmark meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fuelling speculation that his detention may have been politically motivated.

Sigley ran a number of social media sites, which usually had a stream of apolitical content about everyday life in one of the world's most secretive nations.

"He is always trying to demystify North Korea, unlike the typical Western media. He tries to understand the people there," his 26-year-old wife Yuka Morinaga had said.

The case was complicated by Australia's lack of diplomatic representation in North Korea, Australia's interests there are instead represented by Sweden.

Swedish special envoy Kent Harstedt had travelled to Pyongyang where he raised the issue with North Korean authorities.

"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Swedish authorities for their invaluable assistance in securing Alek's prompt release," Morrison said, hailing it as a triumph of "behind the scenes" diplomacy.

Sigley is believed to be travelling from China to Japan, where his wife lives. </s> TOKYO (AP) — An Australian student released after a week in detention in North Korea arrived in Tokyo on Thursday after telling reporters he was in “very good” condition, without saying what happened to him.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released following intervention from Swedish diplomats and had been taken to the Australian Embassy in Beijing.

Later Thursday, Sigley flew to Tokyo’s Haneda airport to reunite with his Japanese wife. He walked past reporters there without making any comments.

Earlier, at Beijing’s airport, he gave a peace sign and said “I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m good. I’m very good,” but did not respond to reporters’ questions about what had happened in Pyongyang.

His father, Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Western Australia, said his son had been treated well in North Korea.

It was a much happier outcome than the case of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea and convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster. Warmbier died shortly after being sent back home to the U.S. in a vegetative state in June 2017.

Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwen Dalton, said she had spoken to Sigley’s wife, who was thrilled by his release.

“We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,” Dalton said.

“He’s a fine, young, emerging Asian scholar, he is very applied to his studies. I really doubted whether he did actually anything wrong by the regime,” Dalton added.

Swedish diplomats had raised concerns about Sigley with North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, where Australia does not have an embassy.

“Swedish authorities advised the Australian government that they met with senior officials from the DPRK yesterday and raised the issue of Alek’s disappearance on Australia’s behalf,” Morrison said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

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

In an interview with Swedish public radio, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said the country’s special envoy to North Korea, Kent Harstedt, “raised the issue of this case at highest level” in North Korea and the release happened during his visit there.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the Swedish delegation led by Harstedt headed back home on Thursday after a four-day visit. It said the Swedes visited a stamp museum and shoe factory during their stay in North Korea, but made no mention of Sigley.

The Pyongyang university student and tour guide had been out of contact with family and friends in Japan and Australia since Tuesday last week. He had been active on social media about his experiences in North Korea and had boasted about the extraordinary freedom he had been allowed as one of the few foreign students living in Pyongyang.

Morrison’s announcement was the first confirmation that he had been detained.

Morrison said he discussed Sigley’s disappearance with other world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week and accepted offers to find out what happened to him. Morrison dined with President Donald Trump in Osaka but declined to say with whom he discussed Sigley’s disappearance.

North Korea has been accused in the past of detaining Westerners and using them as political pawns to gain concessions.

Leonid Petrov, an Australian National University expert on North Korea and a friend of Sigley, last week speculated that Sigley had been “deliberately cut off from means of communications” temporarily because Trump was in the region.

Petrov said on Thursday that he had not been able to contact Sigley since he had been freed, but still suspected his disappearance was linked to Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday.

“It was a time of sensitivity in North Korea after the visit of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and before the visit by Donald Trump,” Petrov said.

“I expected this to happen a couple of days earlier, but it was a good thing to see the Swedish government delegation arrive on Monday just after the summit. It was the right time to be there,” Petrov added. </s> SYDNEY — An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and safely left the country, traveling to China where he told reporters on Thursday he was well.

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 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.

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 when he lived 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.

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

The death of American student Otto Warmbier in 2017 after he was detained in North Korea 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. (Reporting by Colin Packham, Tom Westbrook, James Pearson and Ben Blanchard; Writing by Jonathan Barrett; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Robert Birsel) </s> A student has thanked diplomats in his native Australia and Sweden for securing his release from detention in North Korea.

In a statement after reuniting with his Japanese wife in Tokyo, Alek Sigley said: “I intend now to return to normal life but wanted to first publicly thank everyone who worked to ensure I was safe and well.”

Mr Sigley had been studying at a Pyongyang university and guiding tours in the North Korean capital before disappearing from social media contact with family and friends.

“I just want everyone to know I am OK, and to thank them for their concern for my wellbeing and their support for my family over the past week. I’m very happy to be back with my wife, Yuka, and to have spoken with my family in Perth to reassure them I’m well,” he said in the statement.

He specifically thanked Sweden’s special envoy to North Korea, Kent Rolf Magnus Harstedt, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne for his release.

Swedish diplomats had raised concerns about Mr Sigley with North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, where Australia does not have an embassy.

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

In an interview with Swedish public radio, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said that Mr Harstedt “raised the issue of this case at highest level” in North Korea and the release happened during his visit there.

Mr Sigley’s father, Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Western Australia, said his son had been treated well in North Korea.

It was a much happier outcome than the case of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster and imprisoned in North Korea.

Mr Warmbier died shortly after being sent back home to the US in a vegetative state in June 2017.

Mr Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwen Dalton, said Mr Sigley’s wife was thrilled by his release.

“We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,” he said.

“He’s a fine, young, emerging Asian scholar, he is very applied to his studies. I really doubted whether he did actually anything wrong by the regime,” Mr Dalton added. </s> SYDNEY/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - An Australian student released after being mysteriously detained in North Korea said he was safe and well in Tokyo on Friday and intends returning to normal life, without commenting on what happened to him in Pyongyang.

Alek Sigley, who flew to Tokyo on Thursday to join his Japanese wife, had been one of very few westerners studying in the North Korean capital and went missing on June 25.

It is still not clear why he was detained by the secretive North. The details of his release are also not known and Australia has warned him not to return.

“I just want everyone to know I am OK,” Sigley said in a statement issued by email.

“I’m very happy to be back with my wife, Yuka, and to have spoken with my family in Perth to reassure them I’m well.”

Sigley left North Korea on Thursday and flew to Beijing, where he was met by Australian officials for the flight to Tokyo. He declined to comment to a throng of reporters at Haneda Airport, only making a peace sign before being taken away.

His statement on Friday also made no mention of the reason for his detention or what happened to him.

“I intend now to return to normal life,” he said, before thanking the Swedish and Australian governments for their help securing his release.

Swedish authorities played a crucial role because Australia has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on other countries to act on its behalf.

The Swedish diplomat who helped secure Sigley’s release, Kent Harstedt, told Reuters by phone he could not divulge details of the detention.

“The only thing I can say is that we welcome that North Korea was prepared to listen to our arguments and that this could be resolved so quickly - I think this is good for all parties concerned,” said Harstedt, who was pictured with Sigley at Beijing airport on Thursday.

Sweden increased its engagement with North Korea in 2017 at the height of tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

A senior Australian minister, meanwhile, warned him to steer clear of North Korea in future.

“My advice would be pretty clear, I would stay in Japan. I would go back to South Korea ... I would come back to Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network.

“All of those would have to be better options before he returns to North Korea,” Dutton said. “I don’t think he will put himself back in that situation ... it could have ended up very differently.” </s> (CANBERRA, Australia) — An Australian student released after a week in detention in North Korea described his condition to reporters in Beijing on Thursday as “very good,” without saying what happened.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released hours earlier following intervention from Swedish diplomats on Wednesday, and had been taken to the Australian Embassy in Beijing.

Sigley looked relaxed and gave a peace sign when he arrived at Beijing airport. He did not respond to reporters’ questions about what had happened in Pyongyang.

“I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m good. I’m very good,” Sigley said. Asked how he was feeling, Sigley replied: “Great.”

His father, Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian studies at University of Western Australia, said his son would soon be reunited with his Japanese wife Yuka Morinaga in Tokyo.

“He’s fine. He’s in very good spirits. He’s been treated well,” the father told reporters in his hometown of Perth.

Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwyn Dalton, said she had recently spoken to Sigley’s wife, who was thrilled by the news.

“We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,” Dalton said.

“He’s a fine, young, emerging Asian scholar, he is very applied to his studies. I really doubted whether he did actually anything wrong by the regime,” Dalton added.

Swedish diplomats had raised concerns about Sigley with North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, where Australia does not have an embassy.

“Alek is safe and well. Swedish authorities advised the Australian government that they met with senior officials from the DPRK yesterday and raised the issue of Alek’s disappearance on Australia’s behalf,” Morrison said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

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

In an interview with Swedish public radio Thursday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said she had been in contact with Australia and Sweden’s special envoy to North Korea, Kent Harstedt. She said Sweden had “raised the issue of this case at highest level” in North Korea and the release happened during Harstedt’s visit to Pyongyang.

“Happy for the release of Australian citizen Alek Sigley today! Sweden has done its utmost to work for Mr Sigley under our bilateral agreement with Australia. Relieved that the situation was resolved,” Wallstrom tweeted.

The Pyongyang university student and tour guide had been out of contact with family and friends in Japan and Australia since Tuesday last week. He had been active in social media about his experiences in North Korea and had boasted about the extraordinary freedom he had been allowed as one of the few foreign students living in Pyongyang.

Morrison’s announcement was the first confirmation that he had been detained.

Morrison said he discussed Sigley’s disappearance with other world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week and accepted offers to find out what happened to him. Morrison had dined with President Donald Trump in Osaka but declined to say with whom he had discussed Sigley’s disappearance.

North Korea has been accused in the past of detaining Westerners and using them as political pawns to gain concessions. Australia advises people to reconsider their need to travel to North Korea and warns that foreigners have been subject to arbitrary arrests and long detentions.

Leonid Petrov, an Australian National University expert on North Korea and friend of Sigley, last week speculated that Sigley had been “deliberately cut off from means of communications” temporarily because Trump was in the region.

Petrov said on Thursday that he had not been able to contact Sigley since he had been freed, but still suspected his disappearance was linked to Trump meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday.

“It was as time of sensitivity in North Korea after the visit of (Chinese President Xi Jinping) and before the visit by Donald Trump,” Petrov said.

“I expected this to happen a couple of days earlier, but it was a good thing to see the Swedish government delegation arrive on Monday just after the summit. It was the right time to be there,” Petrov added.

Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report. </s> This undated photo provided by the Sigley family shows Alek Sigley. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, June 28, 2019, in Osaka, Japan, that he remained concerned for the Australian student who is uncontactable in North Korea and has been offered international support to find him. Morrison said the plight of Alek Sigley had been raised with him by world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Osaka including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Courtesy of the Sigley family via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — An Australian student released after a week in detention in North Korea arrived in Tokyo on Thursday after telling reporters he was in “very good” condition, without saying what happened to him.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released by North Korea following intervention from Swedish diplomats and described him as safe and well. After Sigley’s arrival in Beijing, he later went to Tokyo to reunite with his wife, who is Japanese.

At Beijing’s airport, he gave a peace sign to reporters and said, “I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m good. I’m very good,” but did not respond to questions about what had happened in Pyongyang.

He had been studying at a Pyongyang university and guiding tours in the North Korean capital before disappearing from social media contact with family and friends a week ago Tuesday. He had posted often on social media about his experiences in North Korea and had boasted about the extraordinary freedom he had as one of the few foreign students living there.

His father, Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Western Australia, said his son had been treated well in North Korea.

It was a much happier outcome than the case of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster and imprisoned in North Korea. Warmbier died shortly after being sent back home to the U.S. in a vegetative state in June 2017.

Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwen Dalton, said Sigley’s wife was thrilled by his release.

“We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,” Dalton said.

“He’s a fine, young, emerging Asian scholar, he is very applied to his studies. I really doubted whether he did actually anything wrong by the regime,” Dalton added.

Swedish diplomats had raised concerns about Sigley with North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, where Australia does not have an embassy.

“Swedish authorities advised the Australian government that they met with senior officials from the DPRK yesterday and raised the issue of Alek’s disappearance on Australia’s behalf,” Morrison said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

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

In an interview with Swedish public radio, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said the country’s special envoy to North Korea, Kent Harstedt, “raised the issue of this case at highest level” in North Korea and the release happened during Harstedt’s visit there.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency has not mentioned Sigley. Its report on the Swedish delegation headed by Harstedt said they visited a stamp museum and shoe factory during their four-day stay before heading home Thursday.

The Australian prime minister’s comments in Parliament were the first confirmation Sigley had been detained.

Morrison said he discussed Sigley’s disappearance with other world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week and accepted offers to find out what happened to him. Morrison dined with President Donald Trump in Osaka but declined to say with whom he discussed Sigley’s disappearance.

North Korea has been accused in the past of detaining Westerners and using them as political pawns to gain concessions.

Leonid Petrov, an Australian National University expert on North Korea and a friend of Sigley, last week speculated that Sigley had been “deliberately cut off from means of communications” temporarily because Trump was in the region.

Petrov said on Thursday that he had not been able to contact Sigley since he had been freed, but still suspected his disappearance was linked to Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday.

“It was a time of sensitivity in North Korea after the visit of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and before the visit by Donald Trump,” Petrov said.

“I expected this to happen a couple of days earlier, but it was a good thing to see the Swedish government delegation arrive on Monday just after the summit. It was the right time to be there,” Petrov added.

Wang reported from Beijing. Associated Press writers Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
An Australian student who had been detained in North Korea on June 25 is freed thanks to diplomatic talks between Australia and North Korea via Swedish officials.