Plight of Aussie unknown
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison remains concerned for an Australian student who is uncontactable in North Korea.
Mr Morrison said the plight of Alek Sigley had been raised with him by world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“We’re talking to our partners in that part of the world to get to the bottom of what has occurred here,” Mr Morrison said “It’s obviously very concerning. I’m very concerned about it. We’ve had a lot of sympathy also expressed and willingness to assist by other countries.”
Mr Morrison, who dined with US President Donald Trump on Thursday night, declined to say which government leaders he had discussed the disappearance with and what help had been offered.
Australia has diplomatic ties with North Korea but does not have an embassy there. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang offers limited consular help to Australians.
Mr Sigley, a 29-year-old Pyongyang university student and tour guide, has been out of contact since Tuesday and some media reports say he was detained. Official media in North Korea haven’t mentioned an arrest.
His Japanese wife, Yuka Morinaga, 26, said she usually spoke to him daily by WhatsApp from her home in Tokyo, but had not heard from him since Monday. Ms Morinaga, a software developer who married Mr Sigley in Pyongyang last year, said she was “very concerned”.
“We don’t know what’s happened,” she said.
“We don’t even know if he’s been detained or not. Some people might say he’s naive because he’s very pure and believes in ... doing good.”
Mr Sigley’s family said yesterday they had shuttered his social media accounts “to limit unnecessary speculation and commentary on those channels”.
“He remains out of digital contact with friends and family, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to seek clarification as to his whereabouts and welfare,” a family statement said.
“Alek’s family and friends hope to hear from him soon.”
Leonid Petrov, an Australian National University expert on North Korea and friend of Mr Sigley, suspected that the missing Australian had been “deliberately cut off from means of communications” temporarily because Mr Trump was in the region.
“I know Alek well and he has been always on Facebook, on Skype and he is very proactive in the media,” Mr Petrov said.
“In the context of what is going on on the Korean Peninsula right now — President Trump is in Japan today, going to be in South Korea on Sunday, potentially going to the Demilitarized Zone – I believe tensions and security measures are heightened both in South and North Korea.
“I think that North Koreans potentially might have decided to shut down his blog, his Facebook account because the information coming out of North Korea ... is unprecedented. Normally North Korea is a closed book.”