North Korea May Have Silenced Australian Student Ahead of Trump Visit, Says Expert

Australian student Alek Sigley, who was recently reported missing in North Korea, may have been silenced by authorities in the lead-up to US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Korean peninsula, according to an expert and friend of Alek’s.

Leonid Petrov, an academic and researcher from the Australian National University North Korea, said it was uncharacteristic for Alek to be so inactive on social media channels and unresponsive to family and friends, the ABC reports. With Trump set to visit the demilitarised zone in the coming days, however, Leonid suggested that authorities may have swooped amid heightened tensions and security concerns.

"I think that North Koreans potentially might have decided to shut down his blog, his Facebook account because the information was coming out of North Korea, which is unprecedented," he said. "But in the context of what is going on in the Korean Peninsula today—President Trump on Sunday will go to the demilitarised zone and I believe tensions and security measures are heightened both in South and North Korea."

Leonid pointed out that “an international student studying at the university for more than a year and constantly bringing information about the reclusive country could have been seen as a potential distraction factor on the eve of a potential third summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.”

Alek, 29, was living in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and studying at Kim Il Sung University, as well as running a tour company, Tongil Tours, that specialised in educational trips to North Korea for foreign students. Last year, VICE Australia published an article featuring an interview with Alek about his experience as a guide with the company.

"You see the image in the media when it comes to North Korea and it's snarling, glaring people in military uniforms and stuff like that,” he said at the time. “But when you go there… it's different.”

A spokesperson for Alek's family revealed that he has been out of contact since Tuesday, according to The Guardian. Despite media reports, the spokesperson said the family had not received any confirmation of his arrest by North Korean authorities.

Leonid said he didn’t think Alek was in immediate danger, however, pointing out that "international visitors and students are usually safe in North Korea because they are permitted to study there, they are trusted." The North Korean may have seen him as potentially harmful because he wasn’t being censored, Leonid says, and so acted accordingly.

"I don't think there is any danger to his wellbeing. Perhaps he is being deliberately cut off from means of communication. It is a normal practice."

Alek is believed to be the only Australian living in North Korea. His wife, 26-year-old Yuka Morinaga, lives in Tokyo and usually speaks with him via WhatsApp, NewsCorp reported. Yuka said she “didn’t notice anything weird” when they last spoke on Monday night. She also stressed that Alek is “very cautious and very respectful of North Korean culture” and he is “100 percent aware that he’s a guest there and needs to respect the culture.”

“He is always trying to demystify North Korea unlike typical Western media,” she said. “He tries to understand people there.”

Alek and Yuka both attended the Australian National University, in Canberra, where Alek studied North Korean literature. Yuka said he typically splits his time between Pyongyang, Tokyo, and Australia, and he was reportedly planning to travel to Tokyo and Australia next month during the Pyongyang university holidays.

“We don’t know what’s happened,” Yuka said. “We don’t even know if he has been detained or not. I’m worried but we don’t know anything yet.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is currently in Japan for G20 summit meetings, said no new information had emerged into Alek’s disappearance since it was reported earlier this week.

"It is troubling to me and I'm sure his family as well," Mr Morrison told the ABC. "The expressions of support and assistance that have come from other nations I have met with here has been very welcome.

"We will continue to focus sharply on that and seek to clarify what exactly has occurred and then take steps from there."

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