Australian student released from detention in North Korea | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
June 18, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2025
Australian student released from detention in North Korea

World+Biz

Reuters
04 July, 2019, 11:35 am
Last modified: 04 July, 2019, 11:46 am

Related News

  • CA thanks Australia for resuming visa processing in Dhaka
  • South Korean military suspends loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea
  • UK to expand submarine fleet as defence review calls for 'warfighting readiness'
  • Australia's defence minister urges greater military openness from China
  • Weak Chinese demand leaves Australia with too much wheat

Australian student released from detention in North Korea

Alek Sigley, a student in North Korea, went missing on June 25 and raised alarms when his social media accounts fell inactive.

Reuters
04 July, 2019, 11:35 am
Last modified: 04 July, 2019, 11:46 am
Australian student released from detention in North Korea

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.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"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 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.

Top News

australia / north korea / Scott Morrison

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    Khamenei warns US strikes on Iran will have serious consequences
  • Israel strikes Iran's capital Tehran on Sunday night. File Photo: Collected
    Bangladeshi diplomat's house in Tehran damaged in Israel strike: BBC Bangla
  • Debapriya at a discussion meeting titled ‘National Budget 2025-26: What is there for the left-behinds’. Photo: Collected
    Proposed budget fails to meet expectations: Debapriya

MOST VIEWED

  • Infograph: TBS
    Govt to ease loan rules to help foreign firms expand in Bangladesh
  • A view of Iranian missiles across the sky as seen by Biman pilot Enam Talukder. Photo: Enam Talukder
    Biman pilot witnessed Iran's missiles flying towards Israel
  • Global map showing nuclear weapon inventories by country as of January 2025, including deployed, stored, and retired warheads. Source: SIPRI
    How Israel's secret nuclear arsenal comes under spotlight amid attacks on Iran
  • Infograph:TBS
    Overseas employment back in flow as Saudi recruitment picks up in May
  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay coming to Bangladesh next week
  • European Council President Antonio Costa, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo during the G7 Summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool
    G7 expresses support for Israel, calls Iran source of instability

Related News

  • CA thanks Australia for resuming visa processing in Dhaka
  • South Korean military suspends loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea
  • UK to expand submarine fleet as defence review calls for 'warfighting readiness'
  • Australia's defence minister urges greater military openness from China
  • Weak Chinese demand leaves Australia with too much wheat

Features

The Kallyanpur Canal is burdened with more than 600,000 kilograms of waste every month. Photo: Courtesy

Kallyanpur canal project shows how to combat plastic pollution in Dhaka

22h | Panorama
The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

2d | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

2d | Panorama
Photos: Collected

Kurtis that make a great office wear

5d | Mode

More Videos from TBS

Is Putin a Mediator or an Opportunist?

Is Putin a Mediator or an Opportunist?

47m | Others
Trump brand expands again; this time into mobile phones

Trump brand expands again; this time into mobile phones

2h | Others
US to transfer 30 fighter jets to Europe

US to transfer 30 fighter jets to Europe

2h | TBS World
Will Trump take the ladder and hang Netanyahu from a tree?

Will Trump take the ladder and hang Netanyahu from a tree?

4h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net