'Urgently seeking clarification': Australian student detained in North Korea

An Australian man has reportedly been detained in North Korea, with Foreign Affairs officials providing consular assistance to his family.

Alek Sigley has reportedly been detained in North Korea.

Alek Sigley has reportedly been detained in North Korea. Source: Twitter

Consular officials are providing assistance to the family of an Australian man reportedly detained in North Korea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is "urgently seeking clarification" after the man was reportedly arrested in Pyongyang.

A spokesperson from The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told SBS News that the department "is providing consular assistance, in accordance with the Consular Services Charter, to the family of an Australian man who has been reported as being detained in North Korea."
"The Department is urgently seeking clarification," the spokesperson said. "Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment."

Australian and South Korean media have identified the detained man as Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old university student in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

Mr Sigley, from Perth, claims to be the first Australian student to have studied in North Korea.

He is understood to be studying Korean literature at the Kim II Sung University and runs a travel company out of Pyongyang called Tongil Tours.


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