An Australian student was locked up in North Korea during Donald Trump’s visit to ensure he stayed quiet, an expert has said.
Alek Sigley, 29, landed in China safe and well on Thursday after spending nine days detained in the communist country.
Mr Sigley, one of few Western university students studying in North Korea, had lost contact with loved ones on June 25 and many feared the worst.
Upon Mr Sigley’s release, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the masters student had been imprisoned.
Alek Sigley, 29, landed in China safe and well on Thursday after spending nine days detained in North Korea
An expert claims Mr Sigley was kept in custody as Kim Jong Un met with President Donald Trump on Sunday
The timing caused a stir among commentators, as the US President crossed the border between North and South Korea on Sunday – four days after Mr Sigley vanished.
Korea expert Leonid Petrov, who taught Mr Sigley Australian National University, believes North Korean officials wanted to silence the western student from social media amid the visit.
‘Whoever made the decision to put [Alek] outside of the ability to communicate, probably had in mind national security for North Koreans,’ Dr Petrov told Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Alek is known as being friendly, so I’m sure they did it in a mild way, a sensible way. That’s my theory and it still stands: he was deliberately cut out of communications and it was prompted by things happening on the Korean peninsula.’
Mr Sigley was one of the most prominent Twitter users inside Pyongyang and amassed more than 4,000 followers.
He also ran a blog that provided updates on his life in North Korea – even stating he wouldn’t get involved in controversial topics that would land him in hot water.
Before his arrest, Mr Sigley’s last social media post on June 24 was about the Ryugyong Hotel, which remained famously unfinished after construction was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered an economic crisis.
Swedish authorities have been praised for their role in rescuing Mr Sigley from Pyongyang, with diplomat Kent Harstedt arriving in North Korea on Monday, the day after Kim Jong-un met with Trump.
Alek Sigley flashed a peace sign at reporters as he landed in Beijing with Swedish special envoy Kent Harstedt (left) on Thursday
Mr Sigley’s business Michelle Joyce said she would ‘be surprised’ if the Australian student didn’t return to the country despite his ordeal.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to keep going, I’d be more surprised if he didn’t,’ Ms Joyce told Nine News.
‘I’m sure even if this experience was a negative one, we’ve had many positive experiences.’
The company, Tongil Tours, organises tours all over Asia including North Korea, where Mr Sigley was living while and studying to attain his master’s degree.
But Ms Joyce revealed the company was not making money, and was being run more for cultural reasons.
‘It’s not a profitable business, we’re really doing it just for the spirit of trying to build a bridge between DPRK and the rest of the world,’ Ms Joyce said.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned against Mr Sigley going back to North Korea after his experience.
‘The advice would be pretty clear. I’d stay in Japan, I’d go back to South Korea or come back to Australia. All of those would have to be better options before he returns to North Korea,’ Mr Dutton said.
Mr Sigley was expected to be reunited with his wife, Yuka Morinaga, in Japan on Thursday
Mr Sigley was freed from the clutches of North Korea after a colourful Swedish diplomat successfully urged the hermit kingdom to let him go.
The 29-year-old landed in China safe and well on Thursday with the beaming Scandinavian official Kent Härstedt by his side.
Sweden is one of few countries with diplomatic relations with the North, and the country moved quickly to help Australia following Mr Sigley’s disappearance.
Mr Härstedt, the nation’s special envoy to the hermit kingdom, flew in to the country with seven diplomats earlier this week.
Footage showed the self-described Korea expert warmly shaking the hand of a Pyongyang official, saying it was a ‘pleasure to be back here’.
Little is known about what happened in his closed door discussions with Korean officials, except that Sigley was released during the Swedes’ four day visit.
Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom said only that Mr Harstedt had ‘raised the issue of this case at (the) highest level’ in North Korea, and confirmed Mr Sigley was released during their visit.
In an interview with Nine Entertainment Co newspapers overnight, Mr Härstedt said he was anxious not to be painted as a hero. However, his friends saw things differently after he shared the news on his personal Facebook page and was widely applauded for doing a ‘fantastic job’.
Mr Härstedt told Nine he was ‘very happy’ with the result and said ‘I felt they (the North Korean authorities) listened’ to him.
Little is known about what happened in his closed door discussions with Korean officials, except that Sigley was released during the Swedes’ four day visit
Alek Sigley was all smiles as he arrived in Tokyo for an expected reunion with his wife on Friday
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the Swedes visited a stamp museum and a shoe factory during their stay. But the state media outlet made no mention of Mr Sigley.
Meanwhile, no one has revealed why the Korean Literature masters student was imprisoned in the first place.
Mr Sigley’s situation is understood to have been the subject of high-level discussions led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison at last week’s G20 leader’s meeting.
That included a high level huddle between Australian and US officials, and Mr Morrison meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts.
But Mr Morrison’s praise this week was mostly devoted to Sweden, with the prime minister telling federal Parliament: ‘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,’ he said.
Gary Sigley, the student’s father, told Perth media his family is simply ‘over the moon’
Mr Morrison expected to speak with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Thursday night to thank him.
Gary Sigley, the student’s father, told Perth media his family is simply ‘over the moon’.
‘I am sure in the coming days and weeks there will be some more information about what has transpired,’ he said.
‘The last week has been a difficult week not having any information, we’re just so happy that the situation has been resolved.
‘I also know that he’s been in good spirits and he’s been looked after the whole time. ‘
Mr Härstedt reportedly first travelled to North Korea 25 years ago and is pictured left at the country’s border with South Korea. On right, Mr Harstedt is seen in his hiking getup
‘He’s absolutely fine.’
A smiling but flustered Mr Sigley made a brief comment as he was mobbed by media at a Beijing airport terminal on Thursday.
‘I’m OK, I’m OK, yeah. I’m good,’ he said. ‘I’m very good … I’m great.’
But he only responded with ‘aah’ when asked what happened in Pyongyang, flashing a peace sign to reporters.
On Friday morning, Mr Sigley, landed at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, where he was expected to reunite with his wife, the information technology worker Yuka Morinaga.
Mr Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwen Dalton, told Reuters that Ms Morinaga is thrilled by his release.
‘We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,’ Dalton said.
WHY ALEK SIGLEY WAS IN NORTH KOREA
Mr Sigley with his father Gary (far left), a relative and his Japanese wife Yuka in Pyongyang
Alek Sigley was studying Korean Literature at Kim Il Sung University since April 2018 while also operating a tour company called Tongil Tours.
He was believed to have been the only Australian living in North Korea and became one of the most prominent Twitter users inside Pyongyang.
Mr Sigley also ran a blog that provided updates on his life inside the hermit kingdom.
But he explicitly said he wouldn’t get involved in controversial topics that would land him in hot water.
Mr Sigley’s release occurred two years after 22-year-old American university student Otto Warmbier (pictured in Pyongyang) died following his visit to North Korea
Mr Sigley’s last social media post on June 24 was about the Ryugyong Hotel, which remained famously unfinished after construction was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered an economic crisis.
Mr Sigley’s is the first known arrest of a foreigner in North Korea since that of American student Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years hard labour for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster in 2015.
Mr Warmbier was repatriated to the US in a coma a year-and-a-half later, and died six days after his return.